Japan＊s first woman president of a major coed university said Thursday that national policies being drawn up for education reform should cover gender issues to create a society where all individuals are respected.

Speaking at a luncheon at the Foreign Correspondents＊ Club of Japan, Toyo University President Michiko Kanda criticized an interim report submitted by the National Commission on Educational Reform to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori in September for its lack of sensitivity toward gender issues.

※The basic principle in Japan＊s postwar education has been respect for individuals. Such a goal will never be achieved as long as women are subjected to division of labor by gender,§ she said.

※Consequently, parents, teachers and adults must be educated to that end,§ said Kanda, who specializes in women＊s studies.

The interim report, which presents 17 suggestions, emphasizes the need to strengthen education within each family and calls for parents to set discipline principles with a vision. It also proposes requiring all elementary, junior high and senior high school students to engage in community service ※to nurture their sense of self-reliance and civic spirit.§

Kanda said the report is vague as these proposals are not equipped to deeply analyze the situation or specific ways to solve problems and warned that reform efforts may not yield tangible results by implementing the content of the report as it stands.

※For example, the report does not suggest what kind of vision parents should have in educating their children,§ she said. ※It neither explains sufficiently how mandatory community service imposed on students would lead to the goal of raising Japanese rich in humanity.§

Kanda also expressed concern about possible intervention by the government in education at home, which is a ※private affair,§ saying that emphasis should rather be placed on creating conditions conducive to such education.

As to situations concerning women in academia, Kanda, who assumed the presidency of the 28,000-strong Tokyo university in September, said criteria in evaluating academic achievements remain male-centric as they were drawn up by men.

※Although the number of female post-graduate students has been recently increasing, there are fewer academic posts up for grabs,§ she said. ※Competition for openings is intense and women, who are not considered breadwinners, are often required to present outstanding achievements to beat male rivals to secure the posts.§

Female educators account for only 7 percent of the teaching staff at Japan＊s state-run universities, while the figure at private universities stands at 12.2 percent, according to a 1998 survey.

Asked about the current trend of transforming women＊s colleges into coed schools, Kanda said women＊s schools still have a reason to exist as they are mainly responsible for tackling various gender issues and nurturing personnel in such fields.