<Provisional Translation>

Comprehensive Package for
Ensuring Children’s Learningin the COVID-19 crisis

June 5th, 2020

Comprehensive Package for
Ensuring Children’s Learningin the COVID-19 crisis

Basic Concepts

Society as a whole needs to live together with COVID-19 over a long period

Continuous learning during temporary
school closures

Step-by-step approach to resumptionof schools where possible

Recovery of learning by all possible
means

Ensuring learning that can only bedone at schools as much as possible
through flexible countermeasures

Ensuring children’s learning as much as possible
regardless of the COVID-19 infection status
Based on these basic concepts, MEXT will:
I.

Clarify policy on organizing and implementing curricula to ensure effective learning

II. Provide human resources and material support necessary for ensuring children’s
learning nationwideComprehensive Package for
Ensuring Children’s Learningin the COVID-19 crisis

Ⅰ. Clarification of policy on organizing andimplementing curricula to ensure effective learning

Ⅰ. Clarification of policy on organizing and implementing curricula
to ensure effective learning

Basic policy when it is necessary to revise curricula formulated at thebeginning of academic year 2020* due to the impact of COVID-19*An academic year runs from April to March in Japan

Recover learning at school by setting special attendance days, making staggered
attendance schedules, redesigning the timetable, reviewing the length of longvacations, using Saturdays for school, prioritizing school events and shortening their
preparation time, etc.
Special measures can be taken when it is still difficult to complete the curricula
scheduled even if the measures above are taken:① Partial moving of learning contents from this year into 1 or 2 years later② Prioritizing of learning activities at school lessons
Each management body should support educational activities at each school
education and prefectural boards of educations should support municipal and town
boards within the region.

Ⅰ. Clarification of policy on organizing and implementing curricula
to ensure effective learning

Measures to ensure examinees do not suffer disadvantages
in high school and university entrance exams* Entrance exams are mainly held between January and March in Japan

High school entrance exams

MEXT has requested that prefectural boards of education, the implementers of the entrance exams, show special
consideration for the FY 2021 high school entrance.
For example, regarding admission to high schools, in cases where a student's performance record in club activities andother special events is used for evaluation but the events were cancelled or postponed, evaluation can be done of thestudent's performance in other activities the student was able to participate in. Efforts should also be made to ensurethat students will not suffer a disadvantage because their school records show fewer attendance days and fewer
descriptions of learning assessments. Moreover, based on the learning situation in the region, necessary measures canbe devised regarding the scope, contents, and type of entrance exam questions.

University entrance exams
So that applicants who were not able to take qualification/proficiency tests or participate in special events will not bedisadvantaged in the selection process, MEXT has requested that all universities develop special measures such as
evaluation of the process of applicants’ efforts to achieve results, individual interviews online, and so on.
MEXT has also requested that the National Association of Upper Secondary School Principals conduct a questionnaire
regarding the admission schedule, including the general entrance examination, the scope of examination questions,ensuring adequate opportunities for taking the entrance exam by holding additional exams, etc. MEXT will holddiscussions with relevant high school and university representatives based on the results of the survey, and then draw
up and announce “Guidelines for the Selection of University Applicants” in mid-June.

Comprehensive Package forEnsuring Children’s Learningin the COVID-19 crisis

Ⅱ. Necessary human resources and material support
for ensuring learning nationwide

Ⅱ. Necessary human resources and material support for ensuring
learning nationwide
MEXT will take measures for the large-scale assignment of additional teachers and instructors and theprovision of funds to all elementary and junior and senior high schools to support the re-opening of schools
in order to ensure learning and take quick and flexible countermeasures against COVID-19.
Schools staggering attendance by dividing classes

Other cases

Depending on the COVID-19 situation in the region,
make smaller groups of final-year students and ensure
enough class time is allotted to them.

Employ retired teachers, cram school teachers,
university students, education-related NPO staff,
community persons

Instructors

Depending on the COVID-19 situation in the region, assign additional
instructors to assist classroom teachers and ensure detailed instruction.
1-2 per school
2-3 per school

Schoolsupportstaff

Depending on the COVID-19 situation in the region, assign 1 staff to schools
with no school support staff in order to support the preparation of lessons,contact with parents, admin tasks related to health management, etc.

• MEXT’s “Human Resources Bank for
Supporting Schools & Children”• Making student practice teaching flexible• Easing of qualification requirements for
instructors, recognizing temporary,special licenses

Additionalteachers

PersonnelSC
SSW※

Depending on the situation and necessity in each school, additional
assignment of school counselors (SC) and school social workers (SSW)
to provide mental care to students.

Materials

Support to cover expenses forpromptly and flexibly carrying
out necessary efforts forcombatting COVID-19 andensuring learning based on
decision of principal.

Combatting
COVID-19Ensuringlearning••••

Disinfectants
Non-contact thermometers
Ventilation equipment
Heat stroke prevention for lunch cooks• Learning materials• Equipment to utilize empty classrooms• More telephones, school cellphones, etc.

Securing HR※ Nurses will be appropriately assigned at schools
where students needing medical care areenrolled, depending on COVID-19 situation,
consultations with school physicians.

Estimated support※
Elementary/Junior high schools
SmallMedium

Large

1 millionyen

1.5 million
yen

2 million
yen

High schools
Special needs
3 millionyen※ Current estimate, not finalized.

Ⅱ. Necessary human resources and material support for ensuring
learning nationwide

Preparing environment for home study using ICT terminals
Ensuring learning by accelerating “GIGA* School Program”
MEXT has started “GIGA School Program” to realize equitable and individually optimized learning by providing
one computer device for each student and hi-speed internet for schools. *GIGA: Global and Innovative Gateway for All
In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, integrated preparation of hardware, software, and personnel under the“GIGA School Program” will be accelerated and strengthened. It aims the early realization of one computerdevice for each student as well as to prepare an ICT environment even at the students’ homes.
Through these measures, ensure that all children can learn through the utilization of ICT even in emergency
situations like temporary school closures due to natural disasters, infectious diseases.

FY 2019 supplementary budget: 231.8 billion yen
FY 2020 supplementary budget: 229.2 billion yen

Devices, LTE mobile routers, distance learning equipment, etc.

◆MEXT is aiming to provide an environment that enables all children to study at home online without delay through measures such as ;contacting suppliers after grasping demand nationwide, and giving direct advice by specialists to local governments, etc.
◆ In addition, specific focus will be given to ensure that an ICT environment is provided for final-grade students*and for families that are
unable to prepare an ICT environment due to financial difficulties at the earliest possible time.

*6th graders in elementary school and 3rd-year students in junior high school

Communication costs for families◆In order to support home learning for low-income households, special additional payments will be made to help cover communication
costs using existing subsidies.

Ⅱ. Necessary human resources and material support for ensuring
learning nationwide

Enabling teachers to focus on “ensuring learning”
Notification that the valid period for teacher’s licenses will be extended, allowing a grace period forattending license renewal training.
Partial cancelation of this year’s surveys for schools, commissioned projects by MEXT.

Provision of convenient listing of educational videos on MEXT’s“Children Learning Support Website”
Information on educational videos produced by boards of education, educational programs produced by
NHK and the Open University of Japan, etc. has been organized and provided on the “Children Learning
Support Website.”https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/ikusei/gakusyushien/index_00001.htm

Creation of learning materials for retention of learning content
Creation of materials to enable 6th-grade elementary school students and 3rd-year junior high school
students to review what they learned from the first semester.

Building of ICT system for education for the full utilization of ICT
Building of an ICT system for education to enable the comprehensive utilization of ICT through thedevelopment and verification of prototypes for “online learning systems to ensure learning,” thestandardization of educational data, including the coding of the National Curriculum Standards.