As a doctorate degree-holder, I agree with Takamitsu Sawa's Dec. 11 article, "The graduate school fiasco." For more than three years now I have been applying to graduate schools to teach even on a voluntary basis. There are no vacancies.
Graduate school quotas may seem too high, but when I worked in the capacity of hiring Japanese teachers for a private educational institution, teachers with fresh undergraduate degrees were less prepared, even on theories and principles of education.
There seems to be a problem with educational management, if not education curricula, in Japan. I hope I'm wrong. I wish graduate school degree-holders were considered more valuable, since academically they are better qualified.
allan cadano
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