Japan

Intro: Japan’s educational system in recent years, been marked as highly successful, often quoting rigorous testing programs and competitive scholarships to secondary and tertiary schools. The government has consistently spent money on education which has led to smaller class sizes since the government can pay for more teachers.

Primary- There is a much smaller gap in primary enrollment between males and females in Japan. In 2007 there were about 3.5 million females enrolled and about 3.6 million males. The teacher to student ratio was about 18.5 in 2007. Their primary school takes 6 years and begins at age 6.

Secondary-For secondary education, the split again remains fairly even, with about 3 million male and female. Both enrollment rates are at 97%, with vocational schools having about 12% as a percentage of the whole.

Tertiary-The even split continues on into higher education, with both at about 3 million. This data then indicates then that most students who are entering the secondary education system are moving into the tertiary education system as well. The number of graduates, both male and female was about 1 million in 2007.


 * Human and Financial Resources reports that in 2003, 31% of the teaching staff were females. In 2006, the government spent 9.5% of its budget on education, while spending 21.9% of GDP per capita per student. ||