Japan City Using Metaverse Schooling to Solve Student Absences Problem

Japan has begun to apply the metaverse in therapeutic and educational activities. Toda, the city in Saitama, has implemented a metaverse-schooling program to motivate students, particularly those who live far from school, to attend classes. The program was developed by an NGO last year with the intention of allowing students to explore virtual worlds.

With the program, students can wander around the campus and learn in virtual classrooms to get ready for returning to regular classes. At least, this is the hope of city officials, who have also suggested that if the principal agrees, these metaverse classes might be counted as regular school hours.

According to official statistics, 244,940 Japanese elementary and junior high school students missed at least 30 days of school in 2021. A fifth grader with almost 2 years of experience admits it's more interesting to chat online than go to class in person. While the child has not physically attended school in over two years, they still had a common interest in getting together with friends to play outdoor games.

While current efforts to increase school attendance continue to face obstacles, Japanese officials are betting on metaverse education to develop a sense of community among students.

Many educational institutions from numerous sectors now embrace the metaverse as a tool for education. In July, the University of Tokyo announced that it would start offering several engineering courses in the metaverse later this year. The University of Nanjing in China will launch one of the first metaverse majors in the country, preparing students for what appear to be metaverse-related careers.