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[Info. File] Declining Interest in Teaching: Recruitment Ratios Hit Record Lows
The status of teacher recruitment examinations and the current situation of school teachers
Over the past decade or so, the number of teachers retiring from public elementary and junior high schools has remained at around 25,000 per year. Due to the mass retirement of teachers and the introduction of 35-student class sizes, the ratio of applicants to positions available for public school teacher recruitment exams has been declining.
According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's implementation status of public school teacher recruitment exams, in fiscal 2000, the year the bubble burst, the ratio rose to 12.5 for elementary schools and 17.9 for junior high schools. Since then, the ratio has continued to decline, dropping to 2.2 for elementary schools and 4.0 for junior high schools by 2024. The same is true for high schools, which have reached record lows for all levels of admission.
Source: Created by the author based on the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's "Implementation Status of Public School Teacher Recruitment Examinations for 2022 (Implemented in 2021)"
There is a large gap in the hiring ratio by prefecture. In Tokyo, the ratio for applicants to applicants is 1.7 for fiscal year 2024. This is slightly higher than the previous year's record low of 1.6 for elementary, junior high, and high schools, but remains at its lowest level ever. Elementary schools, in particular, have the lowest ratios in the country, at 1.1 for fiscal year 2023 and 1.2 for fiscal year 2024. A shortage of teachers is causing schools to struggle to provide instruction.
To secure teachers, the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education has reduced the burden of teacher recruitment exams from fiscal year 2023, allowing some exams to be taken by the third year of university. It has also introduced a "comeback hiring" program, exempting retired teachers from the first round of selection if they return within 10 years. The age limit for working adults, who can take the exam without a teaching license, has also been lowered from 40 years old to 25 years old.
Meanwhile, more than 30% of teachers are over 50. According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's "2022 School Teacher Statistics Survey" (interim report), 16.5% (109,000) of public school teachers are in their 20s, 27.5% (182,000) are in their 30s, and 33.1% (218,000) are 50 or older. The average age is 42.1 years for elementary school teachers (42.6 years last year), 43.0 years (43.6 years last year) for junior high school teachers, and 46.2 years (46.3 years last year) for high school teachers. While the average age has decreased for elementary and junior high school teachers, there is still a significant age bias.
According to the interim report, mass teacher retirements will end and the number of retirees will decrease from 2023. Due to the declining number of schools and students, the hiring ratio is expected to increase in the future. Furthermore, in terms of teacher quality, the percentage of teachers with graduate school degrees is increasing.
The problem is that, although the teacher turnover rate is low, the number of teachers at public elementary, junior high, and high schools who left their jobs due to mental illness reached a record high of 953 in 2021, and the number of people on sick leave due to mental illness reached 5,897, or 0.64% of the current workforce. Additionally, the number of teachers disciplined for indecent acts and other offenses exceeds 200 each year.
In addition to increasing the number of people aspiring to become teachers, it is urgent to reform the way teachers work in order to improve the quality of education.
(Article revised and expanded from the November 2023 issue of EN-ICHI FORUM)
