The draft version of new curriculum guidelines for elementary and junior high schools unveiled by the education ministry calls for improved teaching in each school subject so that students will acquire the habit of in-depth learning through proactive efforts and dialogue. It also calls for upgrading English to an official subject for fifth- and sixth-graders, and making computer programing a required part of relevant school subjects. As a result, weekly class hours will increase for the third through sixth grades.

The ambitious draft clearly seeks both higher quality and greater quantity in lower education. But it leaves a question of whether school officials and teachers can manage classes as envisaged by the draft at a time when the school schedule is already tight and whether the education ministry can provide sufficient support to schools to help achieve the draft's goal.

Curriculum guidelines, which are legally binding and revised every 10 years or so, serve as standards for what should be taught and how to teach it at elementary, junior high and high schools. They also serve as guidelines for compiling school textbooks. The education ministry will seek public comments on the draft to adopt the finalized guidelines in March. They will be fully implemented at elementary schools beginning in 2020 and at junior high schools in 2021.