University entrance
University entrance is
based largely on the scores that students achieved in entrance examinations (nyūgaku shiken (入学試験?)). Private institutions accounted for nearly 80% of all university
enrollments in 1991, but with a few exceptions such as Waseda University and
Keio University, the public national universities are more highly regarded.
Especially, National Seven Universities are the most prestigious. This
distinction had its origins in historical factors—the long years of dominance
of the select imperial universities, such as Tokyo and Kyoto universities,
which trained Japan's leaders before the war—and also in differences in
quality, particularly in facilities and faculty ratios.
In addition, certain
prestigious employers, notably the government and selected large corporations
(e.g. those listed in Nikkei 225), continue to restrict their hiring of new
employees to graduates of the most esteemed universities. There is a close link
between university background and employment opportunity. Because Japanese
society places such store in academic credentials, the competition to enter the
prestigious universities is keen.
See also: Simultaneous
recruiting of new graduates
Students applying to
national or other public universities take two entrance examinations, first a
nationally administered uniform achievement test (senta shiken (センター試験?)) and then an examination administered by the university
that the student hopes to enter (niji shiken (二次試験?)). Applicants to private universities need to take only the
university's examination.
Such intense competition
means that many students can not compete successfully for admission to the college
of their choice. An unsuccessful student can either accept an admission
elsewhere, forgo a college education, or wait until the following spring to
take the national examinations again. A large number of students choose the
last option. These students, called ronin, meaning masterless samurai, spend an
entire year, and sometimes longer, studying for another attempt at the entrance
examinations. In 2011, the number of ronin who took the uniform test is
110,211, while the number of high school students who took the test is 442,421
[1].
Yobikou are private
schools that, like many juku, help students prepare for entrance examinations.
While yobikou have many programs for upper-secondary school students, they are
best known for their specially designed full-time, year-long classes for ronin.
The number of applicants to four-year universities totaled almost 560,000 in
1988. Ronin accounted for about 40% of new entrants to four-year colleges in
1988. Most ronin were men, but about 14% were women. The ronin experience is so
common in Japan that the Japanese education structure is often said to have an
extra ronin year built into it.
Yobikou sponsor a
variety of programs, both full-time and part-time, and employ an extremely
sophisticated battery of tests, student counseling sessions, and examination
analysis to supplement their classroom instruction. The cost of yobikou
education is high, comparable to first-year university expenses, and some
specialized courses at yobiko are even more expensive. Some yobikou publish
modified commercial versions of the proprietary texts they use in their
classrooms through publishing affiliates or by other means, and these are
popular among the general population preparing for college entrance exams.
Yobikou also administer practice examinations throughout the year, which they
open to all students for a fee.
In the late 1980s, the
examination and entrance process were the subjects of renewed debate. In 1987
the schedule of the Joint First Stage Achievement Test was changed, and the
content of the examination itself was revised for 1990. The schedule changes
for the first time provided some flexibility for students wishing to apply to
more than one national university. The new Joint First Stage Achievement Test
was prepared and administered by the National Center for University Entrance
Examinations and was designed to accomplish better assessment of academic
achievement.
The Ministry of
Education hoped many private schools would adopt or adapt the new national test
to their own admissions requirements and thereby reduce or eliminate the
university tests. But, by the time the new test was administered in 1990, few
schools had displayed any inclination to do so. The ministry urged universities
to increase the number of students admitted through alternate selection
methods, including admission of students returning to Japan from long overseas
stays, admission by recommendation, and admission of students who had graduated
from upper-secondary schools more than a few years before. Although a number of
schools had programs in place or reserved spaces for returning students, only
5% of university students were admitted under these alternate arrangements in
the late 1980s.
Other college entrance
issues include proper guidance for college placement at the upper-secondary
level and better dissemination of information about university programs. The
ministry provides information through the National Center for University
Entrance Examination's on-line information access system and encourages universities,
faculties, and departments to prepare brochures and video presentations about
their programs.
Universities
In 2005 more than 2.8
million students were enrolled in Japan's 726 universities. At the top of the
higher education structure, these institutions provide four-year training
leading to a bachelor's degree, and some offer six-year programs leading to a
professional degree. There are two types of public four-year colleges: the 87
national universities (including The Open University) and the 86 local public
universities, founded by prefectures and municipalities. The 553 remaining
four-year colleges in 2005 were private.
The overwhelming
majority of college students attend full-time day programs. In 2005 the most
popular courses, enrolling almost 38% of all undergraduate students, were in
the social sciences, including business, law, and accounting. Other popular
subjects were engineering (17,3%), the humanities (16,%), and education (5,7%).
The average costs
(tuition, fees, and living expenses) for a year of higher education in 1986
were 1.4 million Yen, of which parents paid a little less than 80%, or about 20%
of the average family's income in 1986. To help defray expenses, students
frequently work part-time or borrow money through the government-supported
Japan Scholarship Association. Assistance also is offered by local governments,
nonprofit corporations, and other institutions.
In 2005 women accounted
for about 39.3% of all university undergraduates, and their numbers were slowly
increasing. Women's choices of majors and programs of study still tend to
follow traditional patterns, with more than two-thirds of all women enroll in
education, social sciences, or humanities courses. Only 15% studied scientific
and technical subjects, and women represented less than 3% of students in
engineering, the most popular subject for men in 1991.
The quality of universities
and higher education in Japan is internationally recognized. There are 11
Japanese universities in the 2006 THES - QS World University Rankings[2], with
the University of Tokyo 19th and Kyoto University 25th. The full listings can
be viewed here.
Truancy among Japanese
university students, even at expensive private institutions, is extremely high.
Roll calls are perfunctory or easily avoided.[3]
see: List of
universities in Japan
Junior colleges
Junior colleges (短期大学 tanki daigaku?) — mainly private institutions — are a legacy
of the occupation period; many had been prewar institutions upgraded to college
status at that time. More than 90% of the students in junior colleges are
women, and higher education for women is still largely perceived as preparation
for marriage or for a short-term career before marriage[citation needed].
Junior colleges provide many women with social credentials as well as education
and some career opportunities. These colleges frequently emphasize home
economics, nursing, teaching, the humanities, and social sciences in their
curricula.
Special training schools
Advanced courses in
vocational special training schools (senmon gakkō (専門学校?) in Japanese) require upper-secondary school completion.
These schools offer training in specific skills, such as computer science and
vocational training, and they enroll a large number of men. Some students
attend these schools in addition to attending a university; others go to
qualify for technical licenses or professional certification. The prestige of
special training schools is lower than that of universities, but graduates,
particularly in technical areas, are readily absorbed by the job market.
Miscellaneous schools
In 1991 there were about
3,400 predominantly private "miscellaneous schools," whose attendance
did not require upper-secondary school graduation. Miscellaneous schools offer
a variety of courses in such programs as medical treatment, education, social
welfare, and hygiene, diversifying practical postsecondary training and responding
to social and economic demands for certain skills.
Colleges of technology
Main article: Colleges
of technology in Japan
Most colleges of
technology are national institutions established to train highly skilled
technicians in five-year programs in a number of fields, including the merchant
marine. Sixty-two technical colleges have been operating since the early 1960s.
About 10% of college graduates transfer to universities as third-year students,
and some universities, notably the University of Tokyo and the Tokyo Institute
of Technology, earmarked entrance places for these transfer students in the
1980s.
These colleges are
unique in that they accept students after three years of secondary school
(grade 9 in the North American system or year 10 in the British system). The
five year programme includes a general education programme at the beginning and
then becomes increasingly specialized.
A recent[when?] white
paper from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology indicated that the colleges of technology are leaders in the use of
internships, with more than 90% of institutions offering this opportunity compared
to 46% of universities and 24% of junior colleges.[4]
Postgraduate education
Graduate schools became
a part of the formal higher education system only after World War II and are
still not stressed in the 1990s. Even though 60% of all universities have
graduate schools, only 7% of university graduates advance to master's programs,
and total graduate school enrollment is about 4% of the entire university
student population.
The pattern of graduate
enrollment is almost the opposite of that of undergraduates: the majority (63%)
of all graduate students are enrolled in the national universities, and it
appears that the disparity between public and private graduate enrollments is
widening. Graduate education is largely a male preserve, and women, particularly
at the master's level, are most heavily represented in the humanities, social
sciences, and education. Men are frequently found in engineering programs
where, at the master's level, women comprise only 2% of the students. At the
doctoral level, the two highest levels of female enrollment are found in
medical programs and the humanities, where in both fields 30% of doctoral
students are women. Women account for about 13% of all doctoral enrollments.
The generally small
numbers of graduate students and the graduate enrollment profile results from a
number of factors, especially the traditional employment pattern of industry.
The private sector frequently prefer to hire and train new university
graduates, allowing them to develop their research skills within the corporate
structure. Thus, the demand for students with advanced degrees is low.
Veerapagupathy,
Chothavilai Beach,
Thengamputhoor,
Kanyakumari.
+91-04652-221337
+91-9500946903
Email:aveholidayhome@gmail.com
