PART Recent Trends and Developments in Government Policies in Education, Science and Culture
Chapter 6. Promotion of "Social Education"
4 Provision of Diverse Learning Opportunities
(3) Learning Activities of the Aged
With a view to enabling senior citizens to continue to live
a worthwhile life,efforts have been made to provide them with a larger number
of attractive places for learning and for social activities. ' Local boards of
education and other organs have organized an increased number of classes and
lecture courses for the aged to give them an opportunity for systematic learning.
The Ministry has been granting subsidies to prefectural governments for the expenses
of organizing "senior citizens' colleges" with the cooperation of local universities
and institutions of the private sector. These colleges offer advanced educational
programs in a wide range of fields to cope with diversified and high-quality
demands of the aged. In order to help the aged enrich their lives and to take
effective steps for this purpose in cooperation with the organizations concerned,
the Ministry also subsidizes municipal "comprehensive programs for facilitating
the worthwhile living of the aged" in which various programs are undertaken.
These programs include: the organization of a meeting for promoting education
for the aged; the setting-up of classes for the aged; the organization of lecture
courses for training volunteers; the utilization of knowledge and experience
of the aged; the exchange of information and experiences between the aged and
the young, and so forth.