Education Kitakyushu to end weekend junior high school club activities by 2027

[thomas]

A trend that might soon spread elsewhere:

Weekend club activities at public junior high schools in Kitakyushu will be phased out starting this September, with a complete end scheduled by September 2027. According to the Kitakyushu Municipal Board of Education, students who still wish to participate in weekend activities can do so through city-approved community clubs. Ongoing discussions between the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Japan Sports Agency have focused on transforming school-based clubs into community-led programmes against the backdrop of falling birth rates and the push to ease teachers' workloads.

Community clubs will take over activities for interested students, while weekday school club activities will continue. Community clubs must operate on a nonprofit basis and understand the significance of school club activities. Training for instructors is mandatory. Both sports and cultural clubs are included, and activities will primarily take place at school facilities. The cost of operations, including instructor fees, will be borne by students' parents or guardians. Guidelines will reference appropriate pricing to be indicated by the national government, with an anticipated fee of 3,000 yen (about $21) or less per student per month. Community clubs can be selected from anywhere within the city.

Japan's Kitakyushu to eliminate weekend junior high club activities by September 2027 - The Mainichi

KITAKYUSHU -- Weekend club activities at municipal junior high schools in this southwest Japan city will be gradually reduced from this September and

mainichi.jp