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[Info. File] Teachers' Leave of Absence Due to Mental Illness Exceeds 7,000 for the First Time (in 2023)
From the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's "Survey on Personnel Administration of Public School Teachers and Staff"
In fiscal year 2023, the number of public school teachers who took leave due to mental illness reached 7,119, exceeding 7,000 for the first time.
According to a summary by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the number of public school teachers who took leave due to mental illnesses such as depression had remained around 5,000 over the past 10 years, but this number increased to 5,897 in fiscal year 2021 and 6,539 in fiscal year 2022.
Source: Created by the author based on the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's "Survey on the Personnel Administration Situation of Public School Teachers in 2023"
The number of teachers taking leave of absence was 3,443, with 1,705 in junior high schools, 966 in high schools, and 928 in special needs schools. Of those seeking employment, 2,597 were in junior high schools, 1,705 in high schools, and 966 in special needs schools. Of those seeking employment, 2,597 had been on leave of absence for more than a year. While 40% had returned to work, 20% had resigned (as of April 1, 2024).
Looking at the reasons for taking leave (as recognized by the Board of Education), the highest percentage (26.5%) was "issues related to the actual teaching of students," followed by "interpersonal relationships in the workplace" (23.6%) and "issues related to administrative tasks such as the division of school duties and responding to investigations" (13.2%).
In particular, at elementary schools, "teaching students" was a major issue for young teachers, with 46.1% of those in their 20s and 41.7% of those in their 30s. In high schools, "interpersonal relationships in the workplace" was cited by 34% of both those in their 20s and 30s.
To address the increase in absenteeism, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has announced plans to further promote work style reform in schools, implement mental health measures for teachers, and improve teacher staffing levels. The "work style reform" initiative calls for streamlining work based on three categories of tasks performed by schools and teachers, increasing visibility through measures such as reducing school hours, and improving consultation systems for excessive complaints. These measures have been proposed for several years.
Furthermore, with the revision of the next curriculum guidelines submitted to the Central Council for Education last December, calls for reducing teacher workloads by addressing standard lesson hours and other factors have been raised.
Meanwhile, the MEXT has also proposed a training system to improve teacher qualifications, and there are calls for both reduced workloads and enhanced support, particularly for junior teachers.
(This article was republished with additional revisions from the February 2025 issue of "EN-ICHI FORUM.")
