Japan's model praised

BRITAIN'S further education system could learn from Japan's, which attracts more private funding and gives a higher status to its lecturers, according to a report.

The Further Education Funding Council's report on vocational education and training in Japan suggests that the British system might benefit if individual students and their families contributed more towards their own education.

It also suggests that the system could be improved if lecturers shared the same high status enjoyed by their Japanese counterparts. The report reveals that the pay of Japanese teachers, including college lecturers, has been augmented three times since 1974 to ensure comparability with other professions.

Chief inspector Jim Donaldson said that it was crucial to understand how the Japanese education system supports the phenomenally successful economy. This is particularly relevant as Britain is reassessing post-16 education in a bid to improve workforce skills and so competitiveness.

Mr Donaldson said: "What we try to do is look at systems which we believe have something to teach us and compare these with our own. It is then up to the powers that be to look at the evidence and decide which, if any, we may want to develop here."

The FEFC inspectors were intrigued to discover that the bulk of the cost of vocational education was paid for by employers. They were concerned, however, by the lack of quality assurance measures in the Japanese market-led approach. The fact that many of these largely privately-financed colleges use part-time teachers extensively raised concerns about quality.

Despite the heavy involvement of employers, Japanese colleges were seen to be relatively unresponsive to the changing needs of the labour market.

The fact that they are private institutions means that they respond largely when market forces dictate change.

It was thought that the Japanese could learn from the British lifelong learning approach. While the participation rate in post-16 education is high in Japan, student numbers are falling because society is ageing and the participating age group shrinking. It was felt that the Japanese were failing to exploit other student markets, in particular adult learners.

Council inspectors intend to visit Malaysia and South Korea next year to see how post-16 education operates.