When NHK interviewed government-designated cities and the 23 wards of Tokyo last year about elementary and junior high school students who voluntarily took a break from school because of anxiety about the infection of the new coronavirus, it was found that there were at least 7,000 people. ..
On the other hand, it was found that only 20% of local governments provided online lessons to these children, and experts said, "While the infection cannot be expected to converge, it is necessary to utilize online little by little to guarantee learning." I'm talking.
When NHK interviewed 20 ordinance-designated cities nationwide and the 23 wards of Tokyo, 25 local governments surveyed the number of elementary and junior high school students who took so-called "voluntary closure" last year because of anxiety about infection. So, there were a total of 7285 people.
Some children have a strong anxiety about infection because they have an underlying illness such as asthma or live with an elderly person who is at risk of becoming seriously ill. It means that some children did not go to school at all.
It also includes the number of children who are afraid of getting infected during the exam season and refrain from going to school.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology is well-known to use online to guarantee the learning of these children, but only 20% of the nine local governments answered that they are conducting online lessons.
14 local governments answered that they did it in some schools and grades, and 20 local governments answered that they did not.
Some of the reasons for "not going" were "to protect personal information" and "the burden on teachers is heavy".
Professor Kaori Suetomi of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Nihon University, who is familiar with educational administration, said, "Amid the uncertainties of infection, it is necessary to use online as much as possible to guarantee learning with the support of the Board of Education. ".