The Academy

The Academy is a huge building in Konohagakure located directly at the base of the Hokage Mountain. It is where prospective ninja are trained and where official ninja receive their assignments.

## Appearance

The Academy is quite large and is comprised of several buildings which were erected over time. The building can be identified by the tree in front of it which has a swing on it and more so, by the giant sign with the kanji for "Fire" on it. Classrooms in the Academy are large and have high ceilings, based on a theory that larger classrooms lead to expansive education, expanding even to the blackboard itself. In front of the blackboard is a podium, situated far from the students' desks and put in a position where the teacher can view everyone at once.

## Administrative Division

Along with being a school, it is also the area where the Hokage's office is located, which is where missions are dispatched and the day-to-day running of the village takes place. The Hokage's office is a large, somewhat oval room usually filled with stacks of unfinished paperwork. Behind the Hokage's desk is a large window through which the Hokage can survey the entire village. The Mission Assignment Desk where missions are usually dispensed to shinobi was located on the premises.

## Academic Division

### Admission Requirements

1. Wish to defend the village with their lives.
2. Have a mind that will not yield, able to endure hard training and work.
3. Be able in body and mind.

If the above conditions are met, admission to the Academy will be granted.

### Curriculum

As with any school, students are taught a core curriculum of reading, writing, mathematics, science, geography, etc. These lessons are typically framed in a ninja-context, and in fact are learned at all in order to facilitate later instruction in tactics and strategy. Students learn the Shinobi Rules, how to strengthen their minds and bodies, and receive special lectures from veteran shinobi. They are taken through the handling of ninja weapons and tools, like shuriken and kunai, learning how to throw and wield them through target practice, as well as instructed on the basics of trap-setting. Academy students are also taught about chakra and how to use it, hand seals. Shinobi classes can be broken into the basic levels of:

* Taijutsu classes serve as the Ninja Academy's equivalent of physical education. In taijutsu class, students are engaged in physical activities to help train their bodies and develop their stamina. Sparring is common.
* Ninjutsu classes provide the bulk of what potential ninja learn at the Academy. Students are taught about chakra, how to manipulate it and use hand seals, and ultimately how to use techniques such as the Transformation Technique and the Clone Technique.
* Genjutsu classes are focused less on how to create illusions and more on how they work. Students are taught how to determine if they are trapped in a genjutsu, and then how to release themselves from it.

Girls must attend kunoichi classes, where they are taught about other cultures and how skills such as flower arranging will help them to blend in during an infiltration mission.

### Graduation

Graduating from the Academy usually consists of taking both a written exam and a practical exam, administered by a chunin instructor, to earn enough marks to pass. Upon graduating, students receive a forehead protector, proof of their achievement. Graduating students are then separated into squads of three genin and assigned to a jonin-sensei to instruct them further, the members determined by their overall factors to create a well-balanced team. At this point, they will be tested once again by their jōnin teacher to assess whether they would be able to handle the demands that will be made of them as ninja (i.e. the dynamics of teamwork). The Sannin and members of Team 7 were given the bell test to see if they could make the cut; it is unknown if the rest of the would-be teams in Konoha use the same test. According to Kakashi, there is a 66% chance of failure, since only nine of the twenty-seven graduates of his time of testing would be allowed to pass this secondary test.

Students who don't pass the initial graduation tests or who are failed by their jōnin-sensei may either be sent back to the Academy or, if their jōnin believes them to be unsatisfactory, they can be dropped from the programme entirely.

## Other Academies

Some limited details about the other Hidden Village Ninja Academies have also been disclosed:

* The Kiri Ninja Academy: The Kiri Ninja Academy's final graduation exam consisted of pitting the entire graduating class against each other in a battle to the death, with the winners/survivors graduating; this was a method to eradicate emotions in exchange for combat efficiency, and was the very reason that Kirigakure was nicknamed "Village of the Bloody Mist" .
* The Suna Ninja Academy: Due to the situation in the Sand, the quality of the Academy's education is greatly underwhelming, resulting in overall lower-quality ninja.
* Iwa Ninja Academy: Iwagakure's academy is similar to Konoha's academy, but has an increased focus on cooperative skills and infiltration. Furthermore, the children are rigorously fed Revolutionary propaganda.

## Trivia

* Although the Japanese name for Ninja Academy is simply Academy written in katakana, it's written with the kanji for Ninja School.