The Japanese city of Toda uses Metaverse for students that aren't attending school.
Toda, the Japanese city in the north of Tokyo in Saitama Prefecture, has started using Metaverse to fight against student absenteeism.
According to the NHK World-Japan news report, by using the Metaverse-schooling service, students can use their avatars to explore the school campus and learn in virtual classrooms.
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The city also considered marking student participation in Metaverse as one of physically attending the school. However, whether it will come into effect depends on the approval of school principals.
The news report cited the example of a fifth grader who hasn’t been attending school for two years. The child claimed that “it is easier to chat with others online.” On top of that, the pupil highlighted that they hope to meet their online friends in person to participate in activities that cannot be completed online.
The city officials noted that learning online and interacting with friends would be the first step for children to integrate back into society after a long time of absence.
It is worth noting that the city of Toda is not the only place in Japan dealing with student absenteeism. A recent study by Japan’s education ministry showed that nationwide, around “244,940 elementary and junior high school students were absent for 30 days or more.”
According to the previous year, the number has increased by 49,000 students. The number doesn’t include students that were absent due to illness or economic reasons. Based on the ministry, the growing number is impacted by changes in student “life environment caused by the coronavirus pandemic."
Other educational institutions are also looking to embed Metaverse into learning. In July, the University of Tokyo announced its plans to launch several engineering courses in Metaverse. Moreover, the university in neighboring China is planning to roll out metaverse-related majors.
