Japan's Official Development Assistance White Paper 2008
Next PageMain Text > Part III Official Development Assistance in FY2007 > Chapter 2 Details about Japan's Official Development Assistance > Section 2. Measures for Each of the Priority Issues > 2. Support for Social Development > (1) Education
<Record for FY2007>
Japan's record in FY2007 is as follows:
Loan aid (ODA loans): ¥14.6 billion (to one country)
Grant aid: ¥14.5 billion (to 28 countries)
Technical cooperation
1,447 trainees accepted
496 experts dispatched
317 JOCV and other volunteers dispatched
Grant aid: ¥14.5 billion (to 28 countries)
Technical cooperation
1,447 trainees accepted
496 experts dispatched
317 JOCV and other volunteers dispatched
<Current Status>
Education plays an important role in the socio-economic development of each country. It also enables each and every individual to develop their own talents and abilities as well as to lead their lives with dignity. However, worldwide, more than 72 million children are currently unable to attend school for a variety of reasons, roughly 60% of which are girls. The total number of adults who do not possess the minimum literacy ability is 774 million people, of which two-thirds are women.15
To improve this situation, since 1990 the international community has been working toward the realization of Education for All (EFA),16 which provides everyone with access to basic education. The part of the EFA-Dakar Framework for Action adopted in 2001 is incorporated into the MDGs, such as universal primary education and gender equality. The international community is making efforts to achieve the goals.
<Japan's Efforts>
Emphasizing "nation building" and "human resource development," Japan supports human resource development in a wide range of fields, such as basic education, higher education, and technical and vocational education and training, and accepting students to Japan's institutions of higher education from developing countries. As for accepting foreign students, in January 2008 then Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in his policy speech announced the Plan to Accept 300,000 Foreign Students, and the Japanese government takes specific measures for more student exchanges accordingly.
At the Davos Forum held in January 2008, then Prime Minister Fukuda took up the issue of development and Africa as one of major agendas of the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit from the viewpoint of human security, as declaring his commitment to focus on healthcare, water, and education. Then Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura elaborated the above commitment in his policy speech, "Education for All: Human Resource Development for Self-Reliance and Growth," delivered in April 2008. His message stressed further improvement in basic education in both quality and quantity, strengthened support for diverse educational opportunities beyond basic education, coordination between education and other fields, and efforts that involve all people concerned in and outside Japan. Specific initiatives during five years from 2008 announced in his speech include: (a) construction of about 1,000 schools and 5,500 classrooms in Africa; (b) skill development of about 300,000 science and mathematics teachers including 100,000 for Africa; and (c) studying condition improvements of more than 1 million students through improved management of 10,000 schools in Africa.
• Efforts in Basic Education
Japan supports efforts for the achievement of EFA in developing countries. Based on the Basic Education for Growth Initiative (BEGIN) announced in 2002, Japan proactively provides support both for "hard" assistance such as building schools with "soft" assistance like teacher training with the emphasis on the three points of ensuring opportunities for education, raising its quality, and improving management as priorities. In addition, Japan has offered more than ¥250 billion worth of assistance in the educational arena including foreign student support and vocational training for low-income countries that have difficulties in achieving the EFA-Dakar Framework for Action. In FY2007, grant aid was provided to Mali for the construction of classrooms and lavatories in order to change bad studying conditions that had caused low school attendance ratios.17 In Bangladesh, Japan developed guidance materials for teachers in science and mathematics, and held training sessions with the materials for elementary school teachers. The guidance materials proved to be effective, and have been distributed to elementary schools across the nation.
In addition to this, Japan has extended both bilateral and multilateral assistance in the Fast Track Initiative (FTI),18 a global partnership to achieve international education goals such as "achieving universal primary education by 2015." Japan has also made contributions to FTI-related trust funds, totaling US$2.4 million in FY2007. Furthermore, Japan, as a G8 chair, has been working as an FTI co-chair, and has been deeply involved in the FTI since January 2008. In April this year, it hosted the working level and other related FTI conferences for one week in Tokyo.
• Education towards Independence and Development
Japan also provides support which contributes to developing the human resources that bolster developing countries' economies and enhancing the social infrastructure through technical and higher education. For example, it implements technical education suited to the local employment conditions and promotes effective partnerships with industry. It also provides support for vocational training combined with microfinance to promote the independence of women. Japan is also increasing the quantity and quality of its assistance to the higher education sector, and in recent years it has been promoting human resource development in developing countries through various measures such as transnational networking of institutes of higher education, joint research projects among neighboring countries and opportunities to study abroad.
• Assistance for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Education
Science and mathematics education is indispensable for developing countries to achieve both progress in science and technology and to enhance economic and social development. Such education also plays a role to cultivate creative and rich humanity, fostering humankind's spirit of inquiry, logical thinking, and capacity for innovation and invention. Along with modernizing its education since the Meiji Era, Japan developed the human resources which support its current economic development by expanding education in science, mathematics and engineering. Based on this experience, Japan actively supports the improvement of the quality of the science, mathematics, and engineering education in developing countries. Japan's support for science, mathematics, and engineering education expands to broad-based cooperation in various regions. Some examples are the Strengthening of Mathematics and Science in Secondary Education Project in Western, Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (SMASSE-WECSA19) and the ¡Me Gusta Matematica! Project20 in Latin American and Caribbean countries.
An in-service teacher giving instruction in mathematics and science as a Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer (Malawi)(Source: Yoshiki Kaki)
• Support for Education in Post-conflict Nation Building
In nation building, education not only serves as a basis for reconstruction, it also facilitates mutual understanding and acts as a cornerstone for peace. In addition, it is also important from the point of view of promoting "human security" in that it furnishes individuals with the ability to protect themselves from threats by enhancing individuals' capabilities. For example, Japan has been providing support such as literacy education and skills training for social reintegration of demobilized soldiers in Afghanistan since FY2005. As for literacy education in Afghanistan, Japan in FY2007 supported the development and production of literacy education materials as well as the training of trainers who would in turn educate literacy education teachers, as grant aid cooperation for conflict prevention and peace building through UNESCO. Furthermore, it also provides support for raising the income of the poor, such as through basic vocational training in post-conflict countries like Sudan, Eritrea, and Rwanda.
• Utilizing the Expertise in Education Research and In-Service Teaching
Japan promotes the International Cooperation Initiative for the sustainable development of developing countries. The initiative is designed to utilize Japanese universities' knowledge (research achievements and capacity to train experts) for international cooperation. Major activities under the initiative include creating and publicizing teaching materials and guidelines based on the expertise possessed by Japanese educational academies. For the advancement of international cooperation which utilizes Japan's educational experience, it is highly beneficial for in-service Japanese teachers to engage in cooperative activities in developing countries. From this perspective, in-service teachers are encouraged to go overseas as JOCV under the Special Participation System for In-Service Teachers21. In total, 511 in-service teachers have been dispatched from FY2002 to FY2007, and they have actively engaged in educational cooperation activities in developing countries. After returning to Japan, they make the use of their experience as JOCV in domestic educational activities.
As for Japan's efforts in FY2008, in April 2008 Japan launched an initiative to facilitate international joint research with developing countries under the ODA scheme, so that developing countries can accumulate scientific expertise and human resources. The initiative is for international joint research among universities and research institutes on global issues such as environment, energy, disaster prevention and infectious diseases, and is implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.