Tohoku region universities and junior colleges affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake are struggling to attract applicants to take entrance examinations for the upcoming academic year.
In autumn, high school students and others choose the schools they will apply to. Most school facilities in quake-hit areas have repaired damage and classes have returned to normal. However, because of slow reconstruction in disaster-hit areas and radiation fears, university and junior colleges are worried negative impressions could result in fewer applicants for entrance exams next year.
A university official said: "We want as many people as possible to take exams. To this end, we'll provide applicants and their parents accurate information [on the current conditions]."
According to the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry, the number of universities and junior colleges affected by the March 11 disaster was 11 in Iwate Prefecture, 22 in Miyagi Prefecture and 17 in Fukushima Prefecture. The numbers include research facilities of universities based in other prefectures.
"Will your university accept freshmen next year?" "Are your university's facilities safe?" These are questions Masahiko Takasaki hears during visits to local high schools. Takasaki is in charge of entrance exams and is the administration division chief at Ishinomaki Senshu University.
The university is about four kilometers from the coast in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.
The university suffered little damage in the disaster and restarted classes May 20. Six of the university's about 1,800 students were killed in the disaster.
Takasaki tells prospective students about the condition of school facilities before explaining the benefits of study at the university. "It's important to provide as much accurate information as possible," he said.
To attract more students, the university increased the number of buses between the university and major stations. It also set up a scholarship program for students affected by the disaster.
Fewer students asked the university to send them brochures through April compared with last year. But with increases in recent months, the total number of requests has reached about 5,600, about the same as typical years.
"But we don't know how many people will actually take our entrance exams," Takasaki said.
Iwaki Meisei University in Fukushima Prefecture is about 40 kilometers from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Although it is outside the no-entry zone, some parents have asked the university about radiation levels.
To ease concerns, the university began checking radiation levels at 16 locations on campus in April and uploads the data on its Web site.
Iwaki Meisei University held explanatory meetings for high school students who want to study at the university at 12 venues, an increase of five over last year.
But a university official said, "We've still received inquires from parents and high schools worried about radiation."
When Sendai-based Tohoku Gakuin University held school information sessions in Hokkaido and the northern Kanto region to attract students, some parents also raised concerns. The parents reportedly said they do not want their children go to the school as they are worried about earthquakes and nuclear accidents.
Even though some universities did not suffer damage in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, there were cases where students' apartments were damaged.
Iwate Prefectural University's Miyako College in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, was not hit by tsunami thanks to its location on a hill about 20 meters above sea level and about one kilometer from the coast. But student apartments along National Highway Route 45, near the shore, suffered damage. As a result, seven students had to commute from their parents' homes, riding a shuttle bus for two hours from Morioka.
In a typical year, Miyako College recruiters visit high schools to attract students. But for the first time, the school president and a dean went to about 20 schools along the coast this year.
The college also collects housing information in Sendai, to be well-prepared for accepting students. Miyako College official Yukiyoshi Tamura said the school has never experienced such a situation before. "We have to erase the worries of high school students and their parents any way we can," Tamura said.
Buildings at Kitasato University's Sanriku campus in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, as well as about one-third of students' apartments, were damaged in the disaster. A total of 620 students, teachers and university employees will transfer to the Sagamihara campus in Kanagawa Prefecture for five years.
In the Tohoku region, with a graying population, a decrease of students bringing youthful energy to local areas is a serious problem. To stem the decline, the Ofunato municipal government included a research and development grant to Kitasato University and others, in its rehabilitation plan.
"Students add life to the city. We hope they will come back soon, for the sake of the city's rehabilitation," an official of the city government's planning and coordination section said.
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