On March 15, 2025, the Fukui Prefectural Board of Education announced personnel changes affecting 1,914 educational staff members, representing an increase of 280 compared to the previous year. This year's data highlights not only the overall growth of educational staff but also significant trends concerning retirements and new hires, displaying the largest numbers recorded in the last decade.
This year, the number of retirees is marked at 373, which is 201 more than the previous year. This surge includes the first group reaching the newly raised retirement age of 61, as the age was adjusted from 60 to 61 just last year. Consequently, the total number of retirees has nearly doubled compared to prior figures, reflecting the increased retirement policy recently implemented.
With the new personnel strategy set to take effect on April 1, the Fukui Prefectural Board anticipates these changes will help alleviate the chronic staffing shortages observed within the education system. This year marks the first time the retirement of educators aged 61 will be witnessed thanks to the gradual increase of the expected retirement age every two years, reaching 65 by 2031.
Among the 286 new hires this spring, which is 16 higher than last year, 263 are general educators deployed across elementary and junior high levels. Notably, this figure has reached the second-highest recorded since 1982, only trailing behind the numbers from 1983. "The number of new hires this spring increased to 286, the highest number of both retirements and new hires in the past 10 years," said representatives from the Fukui Prefectural Board of Education.
The board also announced significant efforts to encourage local residency among new recruits from the Reihoku area. Out of 36 new hires sourced from this region, 28 will remain stationed within the Reihoku district as part of the initiative to promote settlement and community integration.
Female representation among school leadership is also on the rise, with the total number of female principals and headteachers each increasing by three to 23 and 29, respectively. Yet, the overall number of female managers has dipped to 188, slightly reducing the percentage of female leadership across the board to 33.0%. Despite this slight decrease, officials assure the public: "We will proceed with re-employment of retirees and increase new hires." Further initiatives are aimed at bolstering these leadership numbers.
Looking at the structure of this year’s transfers, 1,706 individuals from across educational sectors will be redistributed through school types as part of the board's overarching strategy to fortify collaboration between elementary, junior high, high schools, and special support schools, enhancing overall educational effectiveness. These planned shifts encompass 170 personnel crossing school categories.
The Fukui Prefectural Board has also decided to send two seasoned staff members to Nagano and Ibaraki prefectures for training and knowledge acquisition about advanced educational implementations, fostering growth and innovation back home.
For those seeking detailed information on personnel changes, the Fukui Shimbun D has committed to publishing comprehensive records of the 1,914 educational staff changes, enabling stakeholders and the public easy access to this wealth of data, which can be searched by staff names and school names.