With the number of children not attending school in Tokyo at a record high, the Tokyo metropolitan government has decided to subsidize free school usage fees by 20,000 yen per month starting in the new fiscal year, in an effort to increase the number of learning opportunities outside of school.
According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education, approximately 27,000 children and students did not attend school last year at public elementary and junior high schools in Tokyo, the highest number since they began keeping statistics.
Some children who do not go to school attend free schools, private facilities that provide a place for learning, but the average usage fee in Tokyo is approximately 45,000 yen per month, making it difficult to understand the cost. We have also heard from parents that they are reducing the number of times they use the service.
Under these circumstances, starting from the new fiscal year, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will subsidize free school usage fees by 20,000 yen per month. The target audience is elementary and junior high school students in Tokyo, and the Tokyo metropolitan government plans to hold study sessions for parents about free schools.
We are also considering providing subsidies of up to 5 million yen for efforts to enhance free school activities.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has earmarked approximately 1.2 billion yen for the cost of these efforts in the new fiscal year's budget proposal, which will be submitted to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly this month.