All Osaka Pref.-Run High Schools to Have Short-Term Study-Abroad Programs; Attempting to Revive Public School Popularity

The Yomiuri Shimbun

7:00 JST, January 14, 2025

The Osaka prefectural government plans to have all prefecture-run high schools sign sister-school agreements with high schools abroad to let about 20 students per school study abroad for a short period of time. The aim is to help high school students improve their English abilities, according to sources close to the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education.

This initiative will likely be introduced in phases over three years from fiscal 2025. The prefectural government is currently making final adjustments to subsidize part of the expenses for studying abroad and will include relevant expenses in the fiscal 2025 budget, the sources said.

This is an unusual case in which a prefectural government will introduce study-abroad programs covering students at all public high schools.

At the moment, 49 out of 148 full-time high schools run by the prefectural government have sister-school agreements with overseas high schools. While some schools have short-term language training programs at their sister schools, it has become difficult to implement such programs due to rising costs of travel and other expenses.

According to the sources, the board of education has compiled a proposal to have all prefectural high schools sign sister-school agreements with high schools abroad and let about 20 students study abroad per school. The length of the study abroad program is expected to be around 10 days. Each student will be provided with a subsidy of ¥100,000 and pay the remaining costs out of pocket.

Since students will interact with others at their sister schools during the day, the prefectural government is considering selecting sister schools from countries such as Australia and the Philippines because they are English-speaking countries in a similar time zone to Japan.

In fiscal 2025, the prefectural government plans to implement short-term study-abroad programs at 49 schools that already have their own sister schools and aims to allocate a budget of about ¥260 million for the initiative, including expenses for other schools to choose their sister schools abroad and other activities. In fiscal 2027, when all prefectural high schools will be expected to have their own sister schools, the estimated budget will be about ¥500 million, and all prefectural high schools will implement short-term study-abroad programs in fiscal 2028, according to the sources.

Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura, at a meeting with the board of education in December, said, “Younger generations will have more opportunities to be in direct contact with people abroad. It is important for them to gain a mindset to communicate and interact with people in English, which is a global language.”

“I would like each prefectural high school to have a sister school,” Yoshimura added, suggesting that he would use 2025, when the Osaka- Kansai Expo takes place, as an opportunity to enhance English education. Following the statement, the board of education discussed concrete measures.

The number of students who hope to go to public high schools has been declining in major cities, and those schools are facing a challenge to regain popularity.

Nearly half of Osaka prefectural high schools failed to meet student intake quotas in entrance exams for the 2024 academic year. Since to the introduction of free high school education for all high school students, irrespective of household income levels, many students have opted instead for private high schools that provide better support for students to prepare for university entrance exams and in other areas.

The Osaka Prefectural Board of Education has tried to make prefectural government-run schools more attractive by introducing study-aboard programs and increasing the number of junior high school students hoping to enter them.