"Handwriting Without Excel... Teachers at Risk of Overwork Death" Japan's 'Digital Backward Country' Revisited

Japan's 'Public Elementary and Middle School Teachers Work Condition Survey'
Majority Exceed '45-Hour Monthly' Overtime Limit
'Outdated Digital Systems' Blamed... "Still Relying on Handwriting"

Three out of four junior high school teachers in Japan reportedly exceed the legal overtime limit of "45 hours per month," and one out of three work more than "80 hours per month."

On the 1st, Yomiuri Shimbun cited the "2022 Academic Year Public Elementary and Junior High School Teacher Work Condition Survey" announced by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on the 28th of last month, stating that 64.5% of elementary school teachers and 77.1% of junior high school teachers work beyond the legal overtime limit (45 hours per month). This survey was conducted on approximately 35,000 teachers from 2,377 public elementary and junior high schools.

[Image source=Pixabay]

Furthermore, 14.2% of elementary school teachers and 36.6% of junior high school teachers were found to work more than 80 hours of overtime per month. This means a significant number of teachers are suffering from excessive workloads close to the "karoshi line," where extreme labor can cause physical and mental health issues.

The results of this survey are even more notable as they show a decrease of 19.2 percentage points for elementary school teachers and 21.1 percentage points for junior high school teachers compared to the previous 2016 survey. This indicates that overwork among elementary and junior high school teachers in Japan is not a new issue.

In response, those in the education field pointed out that "the survey was conducted during the relatively less busy periods of August last year (summer vacation) and October to November, so the brutal overtime work occurring at the end of the semester was not properly reflected," suggesting that the actual situation is more severe.

The reason for the excessive overtime among teachers is attributed to "outdated digitalization." On this day, Asahi Shimbun pointed out inefficiencies and ineffectiveness caused by delays in digitalization, stating, "While long working hours for teachers are a problem, the digitalization of school work has not been properly implemented."

"Many do not use Excel... Student records are still handwritten"

According to media reports, in many elementary, junior high, and high school education sites in Japan, paperwork still heavily relies on handwriting. Some schools do not use Excel (spreadsheet) programs that can easily manage grades, attendance, and calculations. In some schools, teachers are required to handwrite dozens of pages of student records per student.

One teacher complained on Twitter, "I transferred this year, and here, (student attendance management, etc.) must be done by hand," adding, "I used to work on a computer, but now it is very difficult." Another teacher pointed out, "Teachers have to write student records by hand. If even one character is wrong, they have to start over. It's the same work method from decades ago."

He also said, "I proposed improvement measures to the school, but senior teachers rejected them, saying 'the current method is better,'" adding, "This can lead to relatively neglecting lesson research and preparation."

At a public school in the Tohoku region, it was reported that the vice principal prints out instructions and cooperation requests sent by email from higher authorities such as the Board of Education every morning in the number of teachers and piles them on desks for distribution. Although sharing attachments would allow teachers to check them directly, they waste time and paper by spending over an hour daily on printing.

Meanwhile, many schools limit communication between teachers and parents to "office phone calls." Mobile phones, emails, and messengers are completely prohibited due to concerns about side effects. Regarding this, a principal of an elementary school in Tokyo said, "There could be teachers who form personal relationships with students' families and misuse them," adding, "If there is even a slight possibility of problems, regulation is necessary."