The number of teachers taking leave due to mental illness has risen to a record high for the third year in a row, according to a new Japanese government survey. The survey shows that increased workload is considered the biggest possible factor, according to Kyodo News today 2.1.
Classroom at an elementary school in Tokyo (Japan)
According to the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the number of teachers on leave due to mental illness in the year to March 2024 increased by 580 compared to the previous year, accounting for 0.77% of the total number of teachers. teachers in elementary, middle, and high schools as well as schools for children with special needs.
The number of teachers on leave due to mental illness has hovered around 5,000 in recent years but has spiked in the past three years.
Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology announced it will take measures to support teachers’ mental health, while also working to reduce workload by increasing the number of teachers. teacher.
Of those on mental health leave, 2,786 have returned to work since the start of the new financial year on April 1, 2024, with 2,903 still on sick leave and 1,430 having quit.
Meanwhile, the number of teachers in Japan disciplined or reprimanded for sex crimes or sexual assault also reached a record high of 320 in fiscal 2023, an increase of 79 compared to 2023. ago, according to the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
The Japanese government plans to implement a system by fiscal year 2026 to prevent convicted sex offenders from being employed in child-related work.
A law taking effect in 2022 allows prefectural education boards in Japan to refuse to rehire former teachers whose teaching licenses expired after they were fired for sexual misconduct. , according to Kyodo News.
