4 Guidance in school courses

Guidance in school courses is the equivalent of an academic education for sentenced inmates who are considered likely to face difficulty in their reformation and rehabilitation or smooth reintegration into society due to lacking the academic abilities necessary for living in society (supplementary guidance in school courses), and for sentenced inmates for whom enhancing their academic abilities can make their reintegration into society especially smoother (special guidance in school courses).

Since FY 2007, the Certificate for Student Achieving the Proficiency Level of Upper Secondary School Graduate has been available in penal institutions through cooperation between the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and guidance on taking the examination is actively provided at four designated penal institutions. In FY 2018, 484 inmates took the examination, of whom 196 passed the examination and 251 passed for part of the subjects (Source: The Education Policy Bureau, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology).