No.43 Inagi City Comprehensive Education Council

(Inagi Newsletter, June 15, 2015 issue)

On May 11, 2015, we held the second Inagi City Comprehensive Education Council meeting of this fiscal year, where we decided on important matters including the educational guidelines. The challenge of educational reform is one of the biggest issues in my second term as the Mayor of Inagi City, but I believe we have made a good start.
This educational reform is based on the amendment of the "Law on the Organization and Administration of Local Education", which came into effect on April 1 of this year. The purpose of the law amendment is to ensure political neutrality, continuity, and stability in education, while clarifying responsibilities in local education administration, establishing a rapid management system, and strengthening collaboration with the mayor.
Until now, education has been the exclusive domain of the Board of Education, and the mayor's involvement in educational content was limited, except for the preparation and execution of the business budget. However, there were opinions and issues such as the unclear distinction of responsibility between the Chairperson of the Board of Education and the Superintendent, the inability to respond quickly to issues like bullying, and insufficient reflection of the public opinion of local residents. Therefore, institutional reforms were implemented, including the establishment of a new Superintendent and strengthening collaboration with the mayor, who represents the public opinion of the community.
In fact, the first meeting was held on April 14, 2015. The secretariat's original plan was to discuss the educational guidelines at that meeting, but since the mayor's term ended on April 26, 2015, it felt inappropriate for a mayor who was about to complete their term to decide on future educational policies. Therefore, I proposed to leave it to the new mayor after the election, and the second meeting was held in May 2015.
As a result, I was re-elected as mayor, and at this Comprehensive Education Council meeting, we decided on the educational guidelines. While considering the consistency with the already formulated Second Inagi City Education Promotion Basic Plan, we emphasized the educational tradition that has been cultivated in Inagi City and named it "Inagi's Educational Guidelines for Nurturing People and Culture through Interaction". Additionally, we included a section on the adoption of textbooks suitable for nurturing individuals who will thrive in the 21st century and established the "Policy on the Adoption of Textbooks for Inagi City Public Elementary and Junior High Schools".
This guideline, formulated with the goal of contributing to the healthy growth of children who will support the future of Inagi City and Japan, while ensuring lifelong learning opportunities and fostering independent citizens, will be promoted step by step in the future.