The number of teachers in the elementary and junior high schools nationwide is serious, although the number of jobs is rapidly increasing with the new Corona

Demand for teachers in elementary and junior high schools nationwide grows sharply despite the rapid increase in work with the new Corona

Schools have restarted in various places this month, but the shortage of teachers is serious.

It was found that the number of teachers at elementary and junior high schools nationwide was at least about 500 short of the fixed number.

At school sites, work is rapidly increasing to prevent infection with the new coronavirus, and experts point out that "urgent measures such as further utilization of external human resources are necessary."

Following the reopening of elementary and junior high schools all over the country from this month, NHK interviewed the actual situation of teacher shortage.

When I asked 67 boards of education in all prefectures and ordinance-designated cities about the placement of teachers, by the beginning of this month, 31 boards of education lacked at least about 500 teachers, and I found out that it is a situation where I can not place it.

The largest number was
▽about 63 in Aichi prefecture,
then
▽60 in Miyagi prefecture,
▽51 in Saitama prefecture,
▽42 in Ibaraki prefecture,
▽28 in Fukushima prefecture and Kagoshima prefecture,
▽Oita prefecture 26 people, and so on.
Due to the shortage of teachers in these areas, the influence of giving up the mathematics class for a small number of children is being exerted.

Even more serious is the effect of the new coronavirus.

To prevent infection at the school site, more labor is needed for disinfection work and distributed school attendance at the school, and the government will work to allow 85,000 people, including teachers, to be temporarily assigned to the school.

However, many local governments find it difficult to secure new teachers, for example, the number of people does not gather after recruiting.

Needs for teachers with non-regular employment increase nationwide

Behind the shortage of teachers, while there is an increasing need for teachers with non-regular employment such as temporary hiring, it is difficult to hire them.

It is said that teachers assigned to schools in each municipality should normally be formal teachers, but experts say that some municipalities increase hiring of non-regularly hired teachers for financial reasons. Therefore, it is said that the needs are increasing nationwide.

On the other hand, students such as the faculty of education of universities, which are the source of human resources, are being sent to private companies one after another, and it is becoming extremely difficult to secure human resources especially for non-regular teachers.

Managing long working hours is an issue

At elementary and junior high schools in Toyama City, where classes were fully resumed from the 1st of this month, the work of teachers is rapidly increasing due to measures against the new coronavirus, and it is difficult to secure additional teachers. It has become.

Of these, the Hayasei Junior High School in Toyama City, which resumed full-scale lessons from the 1st of this month, has secured the required number of teachers, but the measures of the new coronavirus have led to a rapid increase in teachers' work.

This week, the teachers have an interview with each student to take care of the minds of the students who are worried or anxious because the temporary school closure has been prolonged.

In addition, in order to reduce the risk of infection at school, we removed the door at the entrance to the classroom to prevent children from touching the same handle, and after school, disinfect the classroom desks and handrails one by one. I will.

In addition, elementary and junior high schools in Toyama City have decided to shorten the summer vacation of 33 days to 10 days in order to catch up with the delay in class, and it is also necessary to review important school events such as athletic meet and school excursion.

Last year, a survey conducted by the Toyama Prefectural Teachers' Union on actual work hours of teachers revealed that the average total overtime work per month by junior high school teachers was over 99 hours, well above the 80-hour monthly death line. It was

Shuya Furuno, Principal of Hayase Junior High School, said, ``Since the burden on teachers is expected to increase in the future, as a principal, we will review the school work again, such as class methods and events, and check the teacher's appearance and working hours. I want to keep a close eye on it."

Some local governments can manage by rehiring

As the shortage of teachers becomes more serious, some local governments are rehiring people who have retired and are able to manage the shortage.

In Oita Prefecture, recruiting teachers with non-regular employment is not easy, and as of April, there are 26 teachers in total, and we are unable to allocate them.

Of these, at Sakaigawa Elementary School in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture, we have reappointed 3 former teachers in their 60s who have retired and relocated the required number of teachers.
Teachers OBs have a wealth of experience and are said to be reliable, but there are also scenes where they grow older and have physical anxiety.

What's worrisome about schools now is how to deal with the new coronavirus.
Originally, I wanted to divide classes into classes to prevent infection, but because there were not enough teachers available, I decided to move to a music room or study room with more space.

On the other hand, the disinfection work in the school building, which was concerned about the burden, was to be done by the staff who temporarily hired the people who were unemployed by the city due to the new coronavirus, and the burden on the teachers was reduced. That is.

Kaoru Katsukawa, the principal of Sakaigawa Elementary School, said, "I feel that the amount of work is 1.5 times the usual amount due to measures to prevent infection. , I really want people, but I have to work together as one.”

Expert "Faculty's work needs to be further reviewed"

Aki Sakuma, a professor at Keio University who is familiar with educational administration and the actual situation, said, “In the usual situation of lack of teachers, corona has caused more seriousness and the teachers in the field are exhausted. It is easy to increase the number of teachers immediately. However, in order to secure human resources, it is necessary to make the license system flexible so that former teachers can easily return to the work site, and to further review the work of teachers. I think that there are many people who are in the area, so hiring such human resources may be one way.”

In addition, “For example, schools in OECD countries have an average of 20 students, but it is important to fundamentally review teacher training policies, such as switching to a plan to increase mathematics classes for small children and increase the number of teachers with regular employment in Japan as well. I suppose."