Tomás MacGiolla
Ceist:274 Tomás Mac Giolla asked the Minister for Education if she will give details of the most recent statistics on the pupil-teacher ratio in Japan, as compared with Ireland.
Written Answers. - Japanese Educational Statistics.
International comparisons are not reliably made on the basis of statistical information alone as this information often requires interpretation.
However, the following information was extracted from the booklet entitledBasic Facts and Figures about the Educational System in Japan, published by the National Institute for Educational Research in Tokyo, March 1990:
(a) Elementary schools (for ages 6-10):
|
Total number of students |
9,872,520 |
|
Number of Full-time Teachers |
445,222 |
|
PTR |
22.17 |
(b) Resulting from Government Policies on Educational Reform drawn up in 1987, "the Ministry of Education is striving to improve the conditions of the educational environment for Elementary Schools... including a plan for reducing the maximum class size to 40".
The extracts from the publication referred to suggest that the pupil-teacher ratio in Japan in 1988 was 22.17, average class size 30.8 and maximum permitted class size 45.
In national schools in Ireland, the pupil/teacher ratio is 26.7, average class size 30 and maximum permitted class size 39.