Saturday, March 20, 2010
Youth Independent Camp is to be closed on March 31, 2010. Instead, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare plans new independent program utilizing "Urgent Aid Project for Human Resource Development".
Youth Independent Camp provides three-month training camp to NEET, young people Not in Education, Employment or Training. NEET includes Hikikomori people. The aim of the camp is to develop the basic abilities to be independent and restore their confidence that they can work. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare entrust local management of the camps to various kinds of organizations, especially NPO. There are 27 Youth Independent Camps in Japan in fiscal 2009. The entrance fee is high, but the government subsidizes it.
But on November 2009 Budget Screening judged it should be abolished. Budget Screening is the review of government projects by the Government Revitalization Unit. People concerning the Budget Screening were agreed on the necessity of helping NEET to participate in society but criticized the camps from cost-effectiveness point of view. They also criticized the camp project for lack of grasping the achievements, lack of users, etc.
Many people, including the managers of the camps, journalists, politicians in the opposition party, and even some politicians in the ruling party, objected the judgement. A representative objection was that the camp is a social safety net, so it's not good to judge from cost-effectiveness point of view.
On the other hand, Netizens, excluding managers of the camps, tend to support the judgement. Netizens tend to object to inject public money into NEET who don't work and pay few taxes. Some people think Youth Independent Camp is an interest for some NPOs. They profit from the camp.
Youth Independent Camp provides three-month training camp to NEET, young people Not in Education, Employment or Training. NEET includes Hikikomori people. The aim of the camp is to develop the basic abilities to be independent and restore their confidence that they can work. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare entrust local management of the camps to various kinds of organizations, especially NPO. There are 27 Youth Independent Camps in Japan in fiscal 2009. The entrance fee is high, but the government subsidizes it.
But on November 2009 Budget Screening judged it should be abolished. Budget Screening is the review of government projects by the Government Revitalization Unit. People concerning the Budget Screening were agreed on the necessity of helping NEET to participate in society but criticized the camps from cost-effectiveness point of view. They also criticized the camp project for lack of grasping the achievements, lack of users, etc.
Many people, including the managers of the camps, journalists, politicians in the opposition party, and even some politicians in the ruling party, objected the judgement. A representative objection was that the camp is a social safety net, so it's not good to judge from cost-effectiveness point of view.
On the other hand, Netizens, excluding managers of the camps, tend to support the judgement. Netizens tend to object to inject public money into NEET who don't work and pay few taxes. Some people think Youth Independent Camp is an interest for some NPOs. They profit from the camp.
