The Oita prefectural board is mired in an outrageous corruption scandal involving the recruitment of teachers. Five education officials have been arrested, and circumstances suggest that the corruption may be more widespread than detected by investigators and reported by the media. As an education ministry official said, the Oita scandal has greatly undermined people's trust in public education.
A recruitment official at the board and his supervisor are among those who have been arrested. The recruitment official reportedly told the police that he carried out instructions from above to boost recruitment test scores for at least 30 applicants in 2006 and 2007 from among the 82 people who were hired as elementary school teachers. It is also reported that Oita Prefectural Assembly members and secretaries of Diet members had asked for favorable treatment for some of those whose scores were padded. Because of the boosting of test scores, about 10 applicants who could have been hired under normal circumstances were unable to get jobs as teachers.
The recruitment official is suspected of having received ¥4 million in the form of cash and gift certificates from a female primary school principal who has since been arrested. She is suspected of having offered the monetary gifts in exchange for favorable treatment for her son and daughter, who took the test in 2007 and became teachers. A colleague of the recruitment official is suspected of having suggested to her that offering ¥2 million for one applicant would ensure he or she was hired.