TOKYOApril 05 (News On Japan) – Analysis of a nationwide survey of teachers’ working conditions, conducted for the first time in six years, has found that younger teachers and those responsible for larger class sizes tend to work longer hours.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) suggests that support for younger teachers and reductions in class sizes are necessary. The survey, conducted by MEXT for the 2022 financial year, focused on approximately 35,000 primary and secondary school teachers and confirmed figures were published on the 4th. According to the results, the average daily working time at school was 10 hours and 45 minutes for primary school teachers and 11 hours and 1 minute for secondary school teachers. Although this represents a decrease of approximately 30 minutes from the previous survey, a significant number of teachers are still working long hours: 77.1% of secondary school teachers and 64.5% of primary school teachers are likely to exceed the overtime limit of 45 hours per month set by the government. month.
The analysis of the survey results also shows that teachers in both primary and secondary schools who are younger, are responsible for classes with a larger number of students, or hold positions such as class leaders or heads of academic affairs, tend to work longer hours . Moreover, in terms of psychological stress, teachers with longer working hours, younger teachers, and teachers with students absent from school showed a greater tendency to stress. MEXT calls for support for young teachers and reducing class sizes, as well as cooperation with school counselors and other measures to ease the burden of dealing with the diverse needs of students.
Source: NHK
