Postponing Approval for New Veterinary School

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology with weird abbreviation of MEXT announced on Friday that it would suspend its decision of the approval on establishing new veterinary school of Kake Gakuen in Imabari, Ehime, which was once planned this month. According to a person related to the project in the school, MEXT found the planning insufficient in terms of curriculum. No, it is obviously to remove criticism on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of his inappropriate favor to his old friend, Kotaro Kake.

In this March, Kake Gakuen submitted Minister of MEXT a plan of establishing Veterinary Division of Okayama Science University in Imabari in April 2018. MEXT required advice from Council of Establishing College and School Corporation and the Experts Committee on Veterinary Science of the council has been making research on Kake’s curriculum or financial plan. While Kake expected the school to be started with 160 students and 70 teachers, the committee advised that the number of students was too many and age of the teachers were relatively too high. Kake resubmitted a plan with 140 students and 2 additional candidates for the teachers.

The council has been expected to conclude the research on Kake Gakuen by this month. It is supposed that the council attached its opinion to the plan, finding some insufficiency in the plan. Kake is going to fix the problem of its plan by the end of September. If the new plan is not approved again, conclusion on new veterinary school will be postponed to December, possibly affecting the schedule of application for new students.

Against the basic principle of policy making in democracy, schedule, place or council members’ name is not disclosed to the public with strange reasoning of preserving neutrality of decisions. But, as long as the selection of Kake Gakuen has been doubted as a favor of Abe, it is necessary for Abe administration to disclose the process of examination, if Abe really hoped to remove the skepticism on him.

It is scheduled that supplementary elections for three vacant seats in House of Representatives on October 22^nd. The decision on new veterinary school may affect the result of the elections. The opposite parties are preparing for accusing Abe’s close relationship with Kake in next session of the Diet, which is expected to be convoked late September. There is a speculation in the leading party the Prime Minister’s Official Residence urged MEXT to postpone the conclusion after the supplemental elections. This educational policy is still affected political considerations.