教育委員会改革 首長と二人三脚で課題克服を

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Local leaders, new councils must work together closely to fix education problems
教育委員会改革　首長と二人三脚で課題克服を

The board of education system introduced after World War II is at a major turning point. We hope this leads to an overhaul of education administration in regions across the nation.
　戦後、導入された教育委員会制度の大きな転換点だ。地方教育行政の立て直しにつなげたい。

A bill to revise the Local Education Administration Law was enacted last week by a majority vote in the House of Councillors with support from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito and other parties. The revised law will come into force in April.
　改正地方教育行政法が自民、公明両党などの賛成多数で成立した。来年４月から施行される。

The crux of the revision is that the heads of prefectural and municipal governments will be able to have a stronger influence on local education administration, which has hitherto been guided by decisions made by boards of education. Despite the change, the authority to select textbooks and teaching personnel will remain with the boards.
　改正法のポイントは、教委が意思決定を担ってきた自治体の教育行政に、首長の意向を反映しやすくしたことだ。一方で、教職員人事や教科書採択などの権限は従来通り、教委に残した。

The opposition Democratic Party of Japan and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) submitted a counterproposal that would have extensively strengthened the power of governors and mayors over education matters and abolished boards of education. However, education administration demands political neutrality. To prevent local leaders from acting recklessly, the revised law quite rightly keeps boards of education in place to retain fairness in the authority over schooling matters.
　民主党と日本維新の会は、教委を廃止し、首長の権限強化を徹底する対案を提出した。だが、教育行政には政治的中立性が求められる。首長の暴走を防ぎ、権限の均衡を図る観点から、改正法が教委を存続させたのは適切である。

The move to revise the law was sparked by the 2011 suicide of an Otsu middle school student who had been viciously bullied. This case exposed the local board of education’s inability to respond quickly and take appropriate action to deal with bullying. It also shed light on difficulties in pinpointing where responsibility lies due to the fact that they must work in tandem with superintendents in charge of practical matters and education board chiefs representing the boards.
　大津市のいじめ自殺事件で、教委が迅速に対処できず、機能不全を露呈したことが法改正のきっかけだった。教委を代表する教育委員長と実務を統括する教育長が併存し、責任の所在があいまいな問題も浮き彫りになった。

The new legislation creates the post of school superintendent, who will assume the responsibilities currently held by superintendents and heads of boards of education. It also gives governors and mayors the right to directly appoint and dismiss the person in this new role. The designation of responsibility has become clearer.
　改正法は、教育委員長と教育長の権限を「新教育長」に一元化し、首長にその任免権を持たせた。責任体制はこれまでより明確になったと言えよう。

We urge the superintendents to strengthen the ability of boards of education to deal with crises and work hard to resolve problems that arise at schools.
　新教育長は教委の危機管理能力を高め、学校現場で起こる問題の解決に取り組んでほしい。

Putting an end to bias

Many employees of the secretariat, which handles the administrative side of education board matters, were previously teachers. Some observers have said that such employees tend to be lenient when dealing with schools that become embroiled in misconduct or scandal, as they feel a sense of camaraderie due to their shared background. The closed nature of boards of education also needs to be improved.
　教委の実務を担う事務局の職員には教員出身者が多く、不祥事などの際に、身内意識から学校に甘い対応をとりがちだとの指摘がある。教委の閉鎖体質も改善していかねばならない。

The concentration of power in the hands of the school superintendent makes the appointment of this role an important task. Governors and mayors should not simply choose someone who holds political views similar to their own. Rather, they must appoint the best candidate after carefully evaluating whether each has the skills and acumen to handle educational and administrative affairs.
　権限が集中する新教育長の人選は重要である。首長は、自らの政治的立場に近いといった理由だけではなく、教育や行政に関するしっかりした識見や能力を持っているかどうかを見極めて、登用することが欠かせない。

The new law also stipulates that “comprehensive education councils” will be set up in each municipality. Headed by the local governor or mayor, these councils will comprise school superintendents and representatives of boards of education.
　改正法には、首長が主宰し、新教育長、教育委員らで構成する「総合教育会議」を各自治体に新設することも盛り込まれた。

As well as deciding on the basic direction of education administration in their own regions, the councils will serve as a forum where local leaders and boards of education can discuss important issues that affect budget allocations, such as improvements to school facilities and increasing the number of teachers.
　教育行政の基本方針を策定するほか、学校施設の整備や教員の定数増といった予算措置を伴う重要施策について、首長が教委と協議する場と位置づけられている。

One nagging concern we have is how a comprehensive education council will react if the governor or mayor becomes locked in a fierce dispute with board of education representatives.
　気がかりなのは、総合教育会議で、首長と教委が激しく対立した場合の対応だ。

The council’s failure to settle on the direction of education policies could cause confusion in the classroom.
施策の方向性が定まらなければ、学校現場が混乱してしまう。

To ensure that children and students receive the best possible education, these councils must be able to reach a consensus on key matters.
児童・生徒に最善の教育を施すために、合意形成を図る必要がある。

It is imperative that governors and mayors put aside election considerations and firmly resist the temptation to forcefully impose their own views on the councils.
　首長が選挙を意識し、自らの考えを強引に押しつけるようなことは、厳に慎むべきだろう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 19, 2014)