November 4, 2016, 18:00-19:30 IDEC Large Conference room, number of participants 14

336^th IDEC seminar was held inviting Mr.Motoe Nakajima, JICA Regional Cooperation Advisor for Mathematics and Science Education, stationed at Nairobi, Kenya. Mr. Nakajima raised a case of the Bridge International Academy (BIA) arguing the following points; teachers’ professionalism, use of ICT in education, disparities among public and private schools. Mr.Nakajima argued that public schools should be safety nets for those who can’t afford to enter even low-cost private schools. The case of BIA would mirror parents’ dissatisfaction with public schools in terms of transparency, accountability, and stability such as frequent teacher strikes. Thus, this seminar was very meaningful in a sense that we should consider the role of public education.(Kazuro Shibuya, Department of Educational Development and Cultural and Regional Studies)