Special HE track offered for ‘foreign roots’ students

Shiv Kumar Gautam, a 23-year-old student who came to Japan as a teenager, nerly gave up his plans to advance to higher education here, reports The Asahi Shimbun.

“No matter how well I could speak Japanese, I felt I couldn’t compete with native Japanese students in subjects like Japanese language and social studies,” he recalled. A teacher then told him about a “special category for students with foreign roots” for admission at the Kansai University of International Studies. The programme started in the last academic year, designed specifically to address the low advancement rates to higher education among students with international backgrounds. Gautam applied and was accepted as a member of the programme’s very first class, allowing him to pursue his dream of starting his own business in Japan.

A growing number of universities are similarly rolling out special entrance examinations designed for students with international backgrounds.
Full report on The Asahi Shimbun site