Metaverse Schooling To Help Japanese City Combat Growing Absenteeism

Metaverse Schooling To Help Japanese City Combat Growing Absenteeism

Toda City, located north of Tokyo in the Saitama prefecture of Japan, has started using metaverse-based tools to combat growing absenteeism in schools. The city allows children to explore virtual campuses and attend online classes, and prepare to eventually rejoin regular classes again.

Toda City Combats Absenteeism With Metaverse Tools

The metaverse experience is expanding to include educational and therapeutic uses. Toda City, in the Saitama prefecture of Japan, is currently combating the problem of school absenteeism by using metaverse-based tools. The school children facing attendance problems are using a tool created by a non-profit organization last year. The tool allows children to roam around and explore the virtual world.

Children explore a virtual campus and attend virtual classes. It provides them with the opportunity to prepare for attending regular classes again. City officials are hopeful that the metaverse experience will help get children back into schools. As an incentive, they have advised considering the metaverse classes as regular classes to the school principals.

School absenteeism is a growing problem in Japan. A recent survey conducted by the Ministry of Education in Japan found that 244,940 students were absent for 30 days or more from schools in 2021. Officials state that this could be related to the COVID-19 pandemic and how children relate to others.

The gloomy conditions created by COVID-19 measures have also been cited by Japanese media as a possible reason for record student suicides in 2020.

Virtual Worlds and Education

Various educational institutions from several areas have embraced the metaverse as a tool for education. The University of Tokyo announced in July that it would start offering a series of engineering courses in the metaverse later this year. In China, the University of Nanjing is preparing to set up one of the first metaverse majors in the country.

In September, ten universities in the US announced digital campuses with cooperation from Meta, as part of its USD 150 million immersive learning project. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has also reported on the creation of a metaverse campus in July.