Does anyone know if any other wards or cities offer subsidies or an allowance to families enrolling their children in international or private schools?

Copied from Nakano ward, Tokyo, web site in English:
http://www.merit5.co.jp/gyosei/nakano/nakano0002.html

Subsidies for Parents of Children Enrolled in International Schools

(gaikokujin gako hogosha hojokin)

Nakano City Office provides subsidies to foreign parents or legal guardians whose children are enrolled in international schools in order to alleviate the financial burden of educational expenses.
Application procedures are described below for the second half period of FY 1999 (October 1999 to March 2000).

1. Eligibility (All of the following conditions must be met):
(1) Residency and registered foreign residents of Nakano;
(2) Parents or legal guardians of a student enrolled in an international school;
(Equivalent to Japanese elementary school or junior high school student);
(3) Have paid tuition and other educational expenses for the child.

2. Amount of Subsidies
9,000 yen per month per child

3. Applicable Months
For October 1999 through March 2000
Please contact the General Affairs Section at the number listed below for information if you moved to or from Nakano City during this period.

etc.

Chofu has a subsidy for kids going to private Japanese schools (shiritsu gakko). Y6,500 or thereabouts per year (NOT month). Private schools in Chofu I am aware of are Toho Gakuen and Kouka Gakuen.

Does anybody knows an International School which offers Scholarship Program? Thanks.

Hi, Maricel,

Are you looking for a school in a specific area or are you going to decide where to live after choosing a school?

Either way, I think Tsukuba International School in Ibaraki Prefecture is a good place to check. It has a scholarship program, and I'd say TIS is much cheaper than other big int'l schools even without help from a scholarship!

Thanks for the information. Sorry I did not mention my place. I live at Ota-ku, Tokyo. I am planning to enroll my two kids ages 5 and 3 in an international school. But I cannot afford the tuition fees that is why I am looking for a scholarship Program or cheapest fees. Japanese school is not advisable because in our home country unfortunately they will not accredit the Japanese School. Do you know some schools near to my place aside from TIS? or even 2nd to TIS?

The best way to find out about possible scholarship programs at international schools is to get in touch with them directly. Some do, some don't and it will always be case-by-case, most likely. Getting the information directly from each school is better than 3rd-hand.

Scott

Does anyone know if Tsurumi, Yokohama city offer subsidies or an allowance to families enrolling their children in international schools?

I just got information that Chiyoda City residents are entitled to subsidy for students enrolled in international schools. Here's an English version (this was given to me and I make no claim to accuracy).
>>>
Subsidies will be granted in Chiyoda City to lessen the economic burden for parents and guardians who bear the cost of tuition for elementary and junior high school students enrolled in international schools.

1. Eligibility: Parents and guardians living in Chiyoda City (with either foreign resident registration or resident registration) who bear the cost of tuition for students enrolled in an international school offering education at the from 1st grade through 9th grade. However, this excludes those who, based on School Educational Law, have not received postponement or exemption of their obligation.

2. Amount of subsidy Y6000 per month per student

3. Payment Period
* First Term: April to September (6 months) Granted in November
* Second Term: October to March (6 months) Granted in March

4. Application Procedure
You must complete the following forms with the necessary information and submit them by mail or in person at Chiyoda City Office
(1) Application for Chiyoda's International School Subsidies
(2) Verification of Student's Enrollment (you must obtain official verification from the schoo.)
(3) Invoice of Chiyoda's International School Subsidies for Parents and Guardians
(4) Request of Payment through Bank Transfer (Please pay careful attention to the account number and the account name to make sure there is no mistake.)
(5) Blank Receipt (This is not necessary for those wishing automatic bank transfer.)

5. Due Date for Applying for October to March: Wednesday, March 15, 2006

6. To apply for more information, contact the Child Rearing Promotion Division, Chiyoda City Office, 1-6-11 Kudan-Minami, Chiyoda-ku, 102-8688 Tel: 03-5211-4230

Re: international school subsidy ffrom the local government
I called Kitaku ward office regarding a "hogosha futan" at 3908-1111. I spoke to someone in the kyoikuka or gakumuka section (both words for education section). The answer was "no". I keep hoping that it's just my miscommunication that gets me the "no" answer, but it seems that they are sticking to it, no matter how many times I ask...;-)

Has anyone else checked with their ward office yet?

I spoke with Shibuya Ward last month and the
subsidy they offer is for Japanese private
yochien (kindergarten) starting at age 3 or 4
and International Schools are not included.
The entrance subsidy is 40,000 yen and the
monthly subsidy is 12,000 yen.

Thanks Jerry. I also found out that not all International Schools have something called "Gakko Hojin". The wards that offer the subsidy may require that. Can someone explain what a "Gakko Hojin" is?

A gakko hojin is recognised by the government as an educational establishment. There are various criteria, but I gather that one of them is that they own their own land and buildings. This means that most of the newer international schools are not entitled to gakko hojin status, as they do not have the funds to buy their premises.

As far as the government is concerned, if you are Japanese and send your child to one of those schools, you are in the same position as someone whose child is "futoko" (refusing to go to school) or someone who homeschools.

Rather than offering subsidies, I have heard that the education departments in some wards actually call Japanese parents whose children are at international schools and try to persuade them to switch to "proper" Japanese schools. Some of them can get quite aggressive, according to friends of mine who have been on the receiving end of repeat calls, but I don't think they have any legal way of forcing parents to send their children to official schools. They are much less bothered about what foreigners resident in Japan do, obviously.

I know practically nothing about international schools, but please excuse me for saying that the above post can be slightly misleading, although this may not have anything to do with the topic.

Futoko is referred to any child who is not "attending" school, whatever the circumstances. The child is not necessarily "refusing" to go, but often "cannot" go physically even if his/her mind wishes to go.

In many cases, as well as my son's, they are registered to ordinary public schools, and for children 6-15 years old, (strangely) the schools they have registed to will give them graduation certificates as long as they say they wish to graduate, even though they haven't attended the school at all or haven't taken a single test. The graduation certificate will allow them to proceed to higher education (senior high school) etc.. This, I am certain of.

From here, I will write something that could be dated information. From what I understand, most if not all international schools, because of its status, cannot give the student a proper graduation certificate that allows him/her to proceed to most Japanese senior high schools. This may be the reason why some wards try to pursuade them to be transfered to "proper" Japanese schools.

Indeed issues like futoko and NEET are very serious problems today, and the wards may not want any students not knowing what to do once they graduate international schools.

In any case, the Japanese law only says that parents have the duty to "educate" children 6-15 yrs old. The form of education shouldn't matter.

Hi Yuko,

Sorry if I oversimplified the issue of "futoko" - I was just thinking of the way I have heard it used when people talk about the "futoko problem", which mainly seems to be about children not wanting to go to school because of bullying, feeling they don't fit in, or whatever. Obviously sometimes there are deeper psychological or other issues involved.

I'm interested to hear that children in this position can sometimes still get graduation certificates from schools they haven't really attended. Do you suppose parents with children at international schools would be able to do the same thing? I mean, register their child (in name only) at the local school so they would get the certificate, but the child would actually attend an international school?

Most parents choose to send children to international schools for positive reasons, but sometimes it is because they have had problems at mainstream schools, and if they did not go to international school, they might well drop out altogether.

It would seem strange if you could get a graduation certificate for not attending school at all, but couldn't get one if you just attended the "wrong" kind of school. But then again, it wouldn't really surprise me if that were the case - there do seem to be a lot of grey areas in the education system.

Bethan Hutton wrote, "As far as the government is concerned, if you are Japanese and send your child to one of those schools, you are in the same position as someone whose child is "futoko" (refusing to go to school) or someone who homeschools."

According to other parents' stories that I've heard and read, she is right. I think this position is held by some school boards. Parents of kids who decide to opt out of the school system for homeschooling or other alternative methods of education MAY be falsely accused of violating the law and allowing their kids to become futoko, as local school officials try to lecture, berate, harangue and otherwise scold these parents so that the kids to stay in the public school system (so the local schools don't lose funding). One of the best articles I've read is from Brian Covert, who recounts his experiences with the school board after he decides to homeschool his child. See http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~ja8i-brtl/archives.htm#Journal and look for "Homeschool Journal".

Bethan wrote;
"Do you suppose parents with children at international schools would be able to (snip) register their child (in name only) at the local school so they would get the certificate, but the child would actually attend an international school?"

I'm afraid I am clueless as to what the answer is, but in any case, it will finally be the decision of the principal of the public school involved, providing compulsory education. But since incidents like the one shown in Steve's link can happen, parents might want to research in advance through organizations supporting futoko children or homeschooling.

I think the journal in Steve's link shows a very good example of ill-informed educators and unusually well-informed parents. Since it seemed to have been occurred in 2001, hopefully there is more understanding among schools today. The futoko understanding has changed dramatically in the recent 5 years, especially in the cities. But still, most parents seem to mis-understand the meaning of "gimu-kyoiku (literally meaning 'education duty', translated as 'compulsory education')" and think it is the "child's" duty to "attend" school. The truth of course is that education is the child's "right", and it is the "guardian's (i.e. parents')" duty to provide that education, and that education doesn't necessarily mean to attend a school.

Btw speaking of futoko, I'm not at all saying that bullying can be justified, but things like bullying and not fitting in are often said to be mere triggers or even excuses that the students make to justify their psychological situation. Futoko is nothing to be ashamed of, and experts often say that once the student truly accepts this fact, (s)he is almost ready to return to the school (s)he wants to, or of course to positively proceed to another way of life that has nothing to do with school.

I hope I hadn't become too off topic.

Nishimachi has several scholarship programs. However, I believe they are offered to children who have already completed the enrollment criteria. And there are always more kids that could use help, than there is money to give. And each fund is earmarked for a very specific group. For example, there is one fund strictly for the children of teachers.

The way scholarships work in the USA is that they are usually in the form of some sort of endowment (from alumni, etc.) Princeton University, for example, has the largest endowment of any university in the USA. As a result they hand out the highest number of scholarships. They are planning on putting all graduate students on full scholarships next year, I think. That's how rich they are. That's not just free tuition, but also money for room and board, and books and living expenses, etc.

I don't think any of the international schools in Japan have endowment programs that allow them to give away a lot of money. Most of these schools still depend heavily on tuition for the major portion, if not all of their operating budgets.

ASIJ is probably the richest pre-college school (it owns quite a lot of land, charges the highest overall fees, and has a long history, therefore a very large alumni pool). However, even ASIJ probably has a relatively small endowment. In fact my guess is that now that there has been a downturn in expats with childre whose educations are funded by corporations, that even ASIJ is looking at a more meager future, unless they somewhat shift their admissions policies. They opened the early learning center in Roppongi Hills which I'm sure did not come cheap. It was a smart move, but I don't think they are giving away too many tuitions at the moment. I haven't heard even a peep.

Scott mentions that the best way to find out is to ask the school. In my experience, the schools withhold that information. Again, the only really good way to find out is to actually apply, and then ask once the child has been accepted. Then to hedge one's bets, one ends up applying to more than one school. The additional application fees are then forfeit.