A group of cram school operators said Thursday it will launch a screening system for teachers to gauge not only their skills but also their ethics.
The Japan Juku Association, a nonprofit industry group covering cram schools nationwide, plans to introduce the teacher qualification system from fiscal 2007 in order to improve quality, association officials said.
The move follows the fatal stabbing in December of a 12-year-old girl by a part-time teacher of a cram school in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture.
Depending on results of tests in both teaching skills and behavior in general, the association will give qualified teachers a certificate of Class 1 or 2, which expires in one year.
To maintain their qualification, teachers will have to regularly take training courses provided by the association.
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