In Toda, Japan, a virtual space will be used for educational purposes. The government hopes to motivate schoolchildren to attend real classes in this way.
In Japan, metaverses are used for therapeutic purposes. The authorities of Toda, Saitama Prefecture, want to let schoolchildren study in a virtual space, thus trying to attract students to real educational institutions. This is reported by the local media.
According to the mayor’s initiative, schoolchildren who don’t want to or don’t have the opportunity to attend classes at school will be able to join virtual lessons. Educational space based on the metaverse was developed last year and approved by the national government.
Whether such classes will be counted as a real course of study is yet unknown. That decision is left to the principals of each individual school.
The main goal is to motivate students to return to school classes. A recent study found that school attendance in Japan dropped 25% last year because of quarantine restrictions. And despite the decline in illnesses, students are still unwilling to attend classes. For example, about 245,000 elementary and junior high school students throughout Japan were absent from school for 30 days or more in 2021.
Recall that blockchain experts at the University of Tokyo (Todai) are already being trained in virtual space. The Japanese government has expressed a general interest in metaverse technologies and plans to invest in the sector as part of its digital transformation policy.
