Photo/Illutration The ground around Kanazawa Hokuryo High School in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, collapsed in the New Year’s Day earthquake. (Provided by Ishikawa Prefectural Board of Education)

The earthquake that devastated a vast swath of the Noto Peninsula in central Japan, which juts out into the Sea of Japan, is seriously affecting children's education in the areas.

The government and other organizations should provide well-tailored, individualized policy support for affected children and students in various situations: Some are preparing for high school or university entrance exams, while others have been traumatized.

In this earthquake, at least 763 schools across nine prefectures have been damaged. In Ishikawa Prefecture, where the quake epicenter was located, as many as 91 schools are closed.

There are numerous schools where classes cannot resume yet due to extensive damage or because their facilities are being used as evacuation centers.

Some children may have lost their textbooks or other educational materials, while others may have been forced to evacuate to distant locations.

To prevent a serious educational disruption, it is vital to ensure that individual children receive support that meets their unique demands and secures their learning opportunities through flexible measures, such as accommodating them in their desired schools or arranging for online classes.

Some teachers are helping to manage evacuation centers. The national government and local administrations need to dispatch employees to hard-hit areas to assist with disaster-related tasks so that teachers can dedicate their time to children and their parents.

The government should also tap into the capabilities and resources of nonprofit organizations and businesses to tackle the challenge.

Many children may have lost family members or friends or witnessed disturbing tragic scenes.

An education ministry survey in the year following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake found that 18 percent of elementary school children and 12 percent of junior high school students exhibited symptoms suggestive of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Surveys by the Hyogo prefectural board of education following the Great Hanshin Earthquake on Jan. 17, 1995, showed that the number of primary and junior high students judged to be needing mental care peaked three years after the disaster.

To reduce the number of children suffering from their experiences of the disaster, it is crucial at this stage to provide a "place" where children can open up about their feelings and release stress.

The NPO Katariba has established spaces where children can freely spend time in evacuation centers in Ishikawa Prefecture.

Experienced aid workers, such as former teachers who engaged in activities in disaster-stricken areas, are playing with the children, using activities such as jump rope and karuta (a traditional Japanese card game), and helping them with their studies.

Other NPOs have started providing online learning support for affected children. Such targeted and needs-based assistance leveraging each organization's expertise should be expanded.

The Common Test for University Admissions begins on Jan. 13. The education ministry has arranged for students affected by the disaster to take makeup tests on Jan. 27 and 28, with a venue set up at Kanazawa University in Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture.

Furthermore, the education ministry is urging all universities to take measures to prevent students affected by the disaster from having to forgo higher education.

Many universities have already announced that they will accept applications from students even if their high schools are unable to issue reports on the applicants and will waive application and tuition fees.

After the Great Hanshin Earthquake, many national and public universities held special second-stage entrance exams for affected students in late March that year.

Within the bounds of maintaining fairness in examinations, universities should be as flexible as possible in dealing with related issues.

We are eager to see universities and other educational institutions take proactive measures to alleviate the anxieties of students affected by the disaster.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 11

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