To all supporters of Kyoto University
I would like to begin by taking this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation of your ongoing support of Kyoto University.
The spread of the novel coronavirus has had a major impact on Kyoto University. Since April, many of our students have had to take their classes online, causing them additional difficulty and stress. They cannot communicate directly with their instructors, and are unable to develop satisfying relationships with their fellow students due to being unable to engage in extracurricular activities.
The University began resuming face-to-face classes in October. However, in order to prevent the spread of infection, face-to-face classes are only being conducted in a limited number of courses, and even those courses are being conducted using a combination of online and face-to-face classes. As the necessity of conducting classes online occurred suddenly and without warning, the University had to expend considerable financial resources to purchase new equipment (including mobile routers to provide to students) and employ part-time assistants.
Some students are also facing financial difficulties due to the virus’s impact on their household income. We are concerned that such financial difficulties may eventually force some students to withdraw from the University. The Japanese government has implemented the MEXT Emergency Student Support Handout for Continuing Studies to provide assistance to students facing financial difficulties. Kyoto University has also launched its own emergency benefit-type scholarship, and has expanded its framework for tuition exemption to help ensure that all students will be able to continue their studies.
Kyoto University has implemented these measures under its Emergency Student Support Plan, which is anticipated to require approximately one billion yen in total for this fiscal year. We are planning to flexibly utilize government-provided supplementary student support funds in addition to the University’s regular budgets and funds, but this will still fall short of covering the entire cost. We would therefore like to ask for your support.
The University has established the Fund for the Emergency Student Support Plan to seek donations, which will be used to help ensure that students facing financial difficulties will not be forced to give up their studies. We would like to ask all persons who are interested in supporting the University and its students to kindly make a donation to the fund.
If students facing financial difficulties due to the novel coronavirus are forced to give up their studies, it will be a great loss not only to Japan but to the world as a whole. We ask for your kind support and cooperation to help ensure that the next generation can thrive.
October 2020
Nagahiro Minato
President
Kyoto University
Inquiries
- For inquiries about this notice:
Scholarship Section, Student Affairs Division, Education Promotion and Student Support Department
075-753-2536 - For inquiries about the Fund for the Emergency Student Support Plan:
Kyoto University Fund Office
075-753-2210
Related links
- Emergency Student Support Plan: Emergency measures to support students facing financial difficulties due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)
https://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/current/events_news/office/kyoiku-suishin-gakusei-shien/gakusei/news/2020/200519_2.html
- Kyoto University Fund: Fund for the Emergency Student Support Plan
https://payment.kikin.kyoto-u.ac.jp/kyoto-u_eng/entry.php?purposeCode=280000
