TOKYO – The COVID-19 pandemic is casting a dark shadow on the education of young people in Japan, who hold the key to the country’s future. This, in turn, could impose heavy economic costs in the medium to long term.

The novel coronavirus crisis outbreak has forced restaurants and other part-time job providers to suspend or shorten hours and cut wages, reducing student incomes. If the number of students who cannot afford school continues to rise, the implications for Japan are serious.

A Ministry of Education survey of universities and professional colleges found that 57,913 or 1.95% of all students dropped out in fiscal year 2020, compared to 74,129, or 2.5%, the previous year, thanks to tuition waivers and delays. But “it is not known how long the universities will be able to sustain themselves,” said Masayuki Kobayashi, professor at JF Oberlin University.

Government assistance comes with conditions, such as family income limits. Aid should be more widely available, as only around 10% of students are eligible at the moment, said Hirokazu Ouchi, professor at Chukyo University.

“I am surviving on discounted supermarket sales,” said a third-year university student who lives alone in Saitama prefecture, near Tokyo. He made 60,000 yen ($ 547) to 70,000 yen a month working nights at a ramen restaurant, but he lost his job when the restaurant reduced its opening hours in March.

The number of part-time jobs for students has fallen sharply due to the pandemic, reversing the upward trend in employment previously among students aged 15 to 24. The number of students in part-time jobs fell by 240,000 between July and September 2020 compared to the previous year, according to a labor force survey by the Ministry of the Interior and Communications.

This decline was greater than after the global financial crisis of 2008, and the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the northeast region of Tohoku in 2011.

In the first quarter of 2021, an average of 1.71 million students were employed per month, down 170,000 from the corresponding period last year.

Wages have fallen especially in industries that rely heavily on student labor, according to Hrog, a service provider for recruiting companies, who analyzed data from the job search website Town Work. In the restaurant industry, wages averaged 991 yen per hour from January to March, down 14 yen from the previous year. Restaurant chains have been successful in maintaining wages at outlets in central Tokyo, but have reduced them in suburbs such as Saitama, an official at the restaurant chain said.

Average wages in hotels and services were 1,030 yen per hour, while those in recreation and entertainment averaged 1,183 yen, down 29 yen and 21 yen respectively on average. year.

In Japan, many students cover their tuition and living expenses with part-time jobs. Service industries such as food and beverage have typically hired large numbers of students, which constitute a large and flexible labor pool.

The problem of declining student employment, if left unchecked, may further lead to dropping out or suspension of their studies.

Japan’s public spending on education is lower than that of most developed countries. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, grants and other university support programs represent only 1.6% of public expenditure in Japan, compared to an average of 2.9% for the OECD, which puts it ranked 35th out of 38 OECD countries.

Low public spending on education results in high tuition and fees. According to the OECD, tuition fees charged by national and public universities in Japan average $ 5,090 per year, the fifth highest among some 30 countries surveyed. The share of students entering university in Japan is slightly above the OECD average at 49.6%. However, in Japan, differences in income are strongly correlated with differences in educational attainment.

With the expected decline in the Japanese workforce due to the declining birth rate, support for students, including post-COVID-19 programs, is essential. The question is how Japan can help young people meet their educational needs despite the fiscal constraints caused by the pandemic.