Quote:
Originally Posted by yamashita
only private ones aren t for free i guess.
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Elementary schools are technically free. There are VERY few private elementary schools, so most children go to "free" elementary school.
However, I put the free in quotes for a reason.
In Japan, "free" schooling only means that the CLASSES themselves do not cost money.
There is NO WAY that you are going to manage to go without spending some heavy duty cash. You may not have uniforms for regular class, but you do for gym. And they`re pricey. Those little backpacks the kids carry to school? You better be prepared to drop 50,000 for one of those. And then, let`s not forget the school trip - you need to contribute so much a month for that.
And I almost forgot - you need little bags (usually specific to the school) for just about EVERYTHING you have. Indoor shoes (new ones every 3 months), etc etc.
Middle school/junior high is sort of split between public and private. Public is technically free....
But you have a uniform (ungodly expensive) special shoes, school socks, school bags, indoor shoes, school specific supplies, etc. And then the middle school trip is quite a big deal - usually 3 or 4 days of traveling, sometimes by plane, to various places. By the second year, you`ll need to have contributed more than 200,000.
Private is all that PLUS tuition costs.
High schools are not free. It doesn`t matter whether they`re private or state run. They ALL charge for tuition, plus everything else you need for school.