Hello everyone. Curious what the mask policy is for any university you are affiliated with after April 1st.
Despite MEXT’s announcement on March 17 that masks can come off in the university class after April 1st, and that there should be no discrimination for those who take off masks, my university has announced on their website that faculty and staff will still wear masks. We also received an email from the Chairman of the board stating that faculty and staff are still required to wear masks because “people are still dying from covid”.
Was wondering if my university is a sole case or if this is the standard despite what MEXT says.
17 comments
I’m not a university teacher, but I had to fight tooth and nail for my kid’s school district to allow the unmasking to proceed. I had to go to town hall multiple times with packets of research papers showing that masking was detrimental to children’s health and all that. Plus the ministry’s decision/policy dropping masking outside. Was ridiculous and there was so much resistance to such a common sense issue.
I think the professors and teachers at universities and schools will have to fight. Otherwise it’s masks forever for you
My university’s policy is to slowly demask throughout the semester so by the end of may people can choose to mask or not regardless if they are students, faculty or staff
It’s a personal choice for staff and students at mine.
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Not a university, but the BOE i work for (direct hire ALT) told us that it’ll be out choice when the new school year starts. I’d hope it’s the same for the students, too. If someone wants to take off their mask, cool. If someone wants to wear it, also cool. If they only want to wear it sometimes, that’s cool as well
At our college it was initially decided to make masks optional from after Golden Week, but it’s been brought forward to April 1st. That’s for both staff and students.
Masks will also be optional at my my son’s elementary school for students. Don’t know about teachers though.
My university is that it’s a personal choice for students/staff/teachers, and they emphasized that there shouldn’t be discrimination either way.
My kids is in kindergarten, and we’ve been asked to bring a mask in his bag daily (just in case they need it suddenly(?)), but that it is a personal choice to wear it.
I work for several universities. Only one has announced an official policy, which is to leave mask wearing up to students and staff, ventilate rooms periodically, and disinfect non-electronic things used by many people. No other announcements yet.
I work with a number of universities and all still “request” that students and staff continue to wear masks. In classrooms throughout the entire Covid period, I wore a clear plastic “deflector shield” not a traditional mask and it was never an issue.
Staff are required to wear them but students are not at my universit. Yeah, makes sense.
As of April 1, my uni has no mask policy.
I just got home from the gym. Anytime Fitness. They dropped the mask requirement a month ago. 7 out 7 of the Japanese in the gym were wearing masks this morning. I wasn’t. In fact, I had not been to the gym since early December, because I hate wearing a mask, especially while running. My take is this: The masks are not coming off, regardless of what the Japanese government says, because Japanese like wearing masks.
We’re complying with MEXT’s request to universities (i.e., it’s left up to the individual).
Still required, but I’m pretty sure it will be made more flexible as soon as numbers further drop. They are being cautious which is par for the course in Japan, and frankly, I see no harm in that. There are still vulnerable people in the population.
Required to wear them
Choice of the students and teachers … my wife works at a private junior/ high school and they were going to maintain the mask policy through April but now changed and it’s up to the teachers and students..
About 70-80 percent of men don’t wear masks in my gym and 30 percent of women…
In Kobe/ Osaka
No restrictions now