Just four years ago, Japan's high-pressure public school system decided to lighten the burden on young students by getting rid of Saturday classes and using a five-day schedule.
Now, some schools are saying five days are not enough. Under pressure to prepare students better for university, two Tokyo-area high schools have announced they will go back to a six-day week when the new school year starts in April. The schools say that parents and students are worried that public school standards might be hurt by recent changes made to try to lower pressure on students and help them be more creative.
``Many students at the two schools are on a college track,'' education official Junichi Asaumi said. ``Some students, along with their parents, asked for the Saturday classes as a supplement to help them do better,'' he said.
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Asaumi, however, said the return to a six-day week will not be total. Saturday school will be held every other week and be open to parents to see what their children are learning. Asaumi says they will not be full-blown study periods.
Some parents are afraid that children in less difficult public schools will fall behind students at private schools, which still use the six-day schedule, said Yoshio Kato of the Saitama Parent-Teacher Association.
``Public school fees may be less expensive, but parents don't want to see a big gap in the education that children receive,'' Asumi said.
Over the past 20 years, people have become worried that the Japanese education system puts too much pressure on children, causing student burnout and bullying, and making more and more children say they do not want to go to school. Although changes have been made in the past few years, they have not changed the pressure students feel toward university entrance exams. (AP)
四年前，日本升學壓力極大的公立學校體系為了減輕年輕學子的負擔，決定取消週六的課表，一星期只上課五天。
不過現在卻有些學校表示，一週上課五天根本不夠。為了讓學生能更充份準備升學，東京兩所深感升學率壓力的高中已表示，四月份新學年開始時，將恢復週六上課的舊制。這兩所學校表示，父母和學生都擔心，這些為了減輕學子壓力及提升他們創造力的變革，可能有損公立學校的水準。
文部省官員淺海准一（譯音）表示：「這兩所學校的許多學生都以擠進大學窄門為目標。」他說：「有些學生和家長甚至為了提升學業能力，要求學校在週六開設輔導課程。」
不過淺海准一表示，並非全面恢復週六上課。恢復舊制的學校除了實施週六隔週正規上課外，還將開放父母參觀子女學習的情況。淺海准一說，週六的課程形式將不同於平日一般課程。
「埼玉家長教師協會」的加藤義夫（譯音）表示，有些父母擔心，在「輕鬆學習」的公立學校就學的子女，程度將遠遠落後在一週上課六天的私校就讀的孩子。
淺海准一說：「公立學校的學費或許比較便宜，但做父母的都不想看見子女在升學路上差人一大截。」
過去二十年來，日本教育體制加諸過多壓力在學子身上，造成學生自殺自殘、恃強欺弱及拒絕上學等情況，一直令許多人憂心不已。儘管過去幾年日本實施了教育改革，但這些改革絲毫沒有減輕學子面對大學聯考的壓力。 （美聯社）
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