Government school versus private?

Hello everyone, I am confused as of the school system in Japan. I get very mixed answers.

Someone say government shoolc for the first 9 years are free someone say the cost money.

So, Is government schools free of charge or not? If not what is the cost and for what does people need to pay?

Is it true that you dont need shooluniform in government schools? Only for university level.

Very grateful for an answer ..

Kind reg

Pelle

"Someone say government shoolc for the first 9 years are free someone say the cost money."

Are you talking about neighborhood public schools that children from age 6 to 15 go to? If so, it is compulsory education. Therefore, school fees are extremely cheap.

Some people get the idea that you pay nothing at all, but that is wrong. There is a tuition fee and it costs something around 5000 yen per month. Additional to this, in some cities or towns, schools provide lunch. So you have to pay lunch money, which again is very cheap but not free. Also most junior high schools (age 12 to 15) have school uniforms, so you have to pay for that. Other than these, you need to pay money here and there such as for school trips or for some of the tools you use at class or for club activities.

If the family has very low income, they can apply for subsidy.

"what is the cost"

I happened to keep record. I ended up paying a total of about 300,000 yen for the three years my child attended public junior high school. This includes tuition fee, uniforms, club activity fees, the 2 big school trips, PTA fee etc. This does not include lunch, as it was not provided by the school.

"Is it true that you dont need shooluniform in government schools?"

It depends on the school. Most neighborhood public schools for children ages 6 to 12 do not have uniforms except for the sportswear they wear during physical education classes. Meanwhile, most junior high (ages 12 to 15) and senior high (ages 15 to 18) schools have uniforms, both in public and private schools. Most universities do not have uniforms.

Hope it helps.

But then, I am just an anonymous poster on the internet. If you need trustworthy answers, you need to ask at your local city hall in Japan, or the Japanese Embassy near you.

Sorry for my spelling before.

I am very happy for the answer Uco. Thanks alot.

One thing to remember is that gov't schools are conducted almost entirely in Japanese. Some private international schools are conducted in English but they are expensive.