The Free University Law, which makes higher education free of charge for low-income households, was passed and passed by the majority of the ruling party and the Democratic Party for the People at the House of Councilors plenary session.The new system will start in April 2020 with the aim of preventing the education gap from becoming fixed due to the economic situation of households.The financial resources will be used to raise the consumption tax rate to 4%, which is scheduled for October.
According to the House of Councilors, in addition to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito Party, the opposition Democratic Party for the People and the Nippon Ishin no Kai also supported the bill, and the Constitutional Democratic Party and the Communist Party opposed it.Of the 230 votes cast, 185 were in favor and 45 were against.
Free university scholarships will be offered to students in households with an annual income of less than 380 million yen by reducing or exempting tuition fees from universities and expanding benefit-type scholarships that do not require repayment.Target schools are universities, junior colleges, colleges of technology, and vocational schools that meet the requirements set by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
The reduction and exemption of tuition fees and the level of benefits will be different according to the parents' annual income.The upper limit of tuition reduction and exemption is 54 yen per year at national and public universities and 70 yen per year at private universities.The upper limit of benefit-type scholarships is 35 yen per year for home students attending national and public universities, and 91 yen per year for boarding house students attending private universities.
The Abe administration is emphasizing the results of the summer hospital election as an expansion of support for the child-rearing generation, but it is possible that some middle-class students who are currently receiving support from private universities will not be able to receive support. In addition, opposition parties have pointed out problems such as the risk of accelerating the outflow of students from rural areas to the metropolitan area where universities are concentrated, going against regional revitalization.
