JAPANESE private schools are recruiting more Myanmar students, thanks to a change in Japanese government policy that eases entry visa requirements, say industry sources in Yangon.

U Than Naing, managing director of the Shwe Zabu Deik Company, told The Myanmar Times that the Japanese government is allowing Japanese private schools to accept more students from overseas. Over the period, 2009-2010, they plan to recruit 300,000 foreign students.

“This policy has made it much easier for Myanmar students to study in Japan than it used to be,” said U Than Naing.

Most private schools in Japan are language schools. Those who want to study in Japan must have a thorough knowledge of Japanese, since every subject in Japanese universities or collages is taught in that language.

But until now, the main problem for foreign students has been obtaining an entry visa, said U Myint Thu, president of the Greater Mekong Initiative.

“Now that the Japanese government has given the green light to its schools to recruit more overseas students, it should be easier,” said U Myint Thu.

The policy change is apparently related to the need to expand the income base during the global recession, suggests Dr Nay Win Naing of the Valentine Organisation (UK).

Since the beginning of this financial year, both the number of schools recruiting students in Myanmar and the number of Myanmar students going to Japan have both risen.

Applicants must be at least second-year students from government-recognized universities and must have passed at least level II of the Japanese language proficiency test.

“Japanese schools do not require a certain level of language proficiency. But those wishing to study at a university must have a good command of Japanese,” said Mr Waki Yoshio, director of Kake Educational Institute.

“One of the advantages of studying in Japan is that the students are eligible to work four hours a day, 20 hours a week,” U Than Naing said. University students have an official employment pass entitling them to work 28 hours a week, he added. This is unlike the situation in Singapore, where foreign students are not permitted to work.

Foreign students in Japan should expect to pay about 900,000 yen per year, including living costs. “Accommodation, meals and transportation should cost about Y70,000,” said U Than Naing.

For the first 18-24 months, students learn Japanese and then go on to pursue other studies.