Canadian Schools Are Off for Almost Half the Year: Canada vs. Japan

Instructional hours at public schools appear to be determined basically by each province. In BC, they were set as follows. It seems to be a rule that public schools must provide these instructional hours over the course of a year.

Kindergarten: 848 hours per year
Elementary: 873 hours per year
Secondary: 947 hours per year

SCHOOL CALENDAR REGULATION, BC Ministry of Education

Meanwhile, what about Japan? According to statistics on “total annual class hours and school days” published on the website of Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), schools generally fall into the following categories:

Grade 1 of elementary school: at least 813 hours per year
Grade 6 of elementary school: at least 976 hours per year

— “Total Annual Class Hours and School Days,” Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

Surprisingly, Japanese elementary school students receive more instruction than Canadian high school students. What’s more, these hours for Japanese schools do not include time spent on club activities and school events held during class time, which apparently adds around another 50 hours.

The difference in annual instructional hours between Japan and Canada is clear. Naturally, there is also a big difference in the number of school days needed to complete those hours.

Japan: 195–205 days per year
Canada: around 180 days per year is typical *Based on school calendars of districts in the Vancouver area

Canadian schools are off for half the year. Compared with Japan, the difference is 15 to 25 days. Considering that children attend school five days a week, Monday to Friday, that is a difference of an entire month.

Although this was our own research, the feeling among Japanese parents that “Canadian schools have so many holidays, and they’re so long!” is exactly right.

So why bring this up at this time of year? February had a four-day weekend when the BC Family Day holiday was combined with a Pro-D Day (a day off school for teachers’ professional development), and I thought what a busy month it was, even with only 28 days.

If you think about it, the next holiday is Easter in April—another four-day weekend. What about March, then? There are no statutory holidays in March. But! There is spring break. Most schools are off for two weeks from March 16.

In May there is the Victoria Day holiday, and again a Pro-D Day will probably be attached to make another four-day weekend. The following month, June, has no statutory holidays. But more than anything, summer vacation starts in the last week! From then until the first week of September, there is no school for more than two months. And that is really long!!

So it feels as though holidays and breaks keep coming one after another throughout the school year in Canada. Even so, the required annual instructional hours are presumably being met. But when the school day runs from something like 8:42 a.m. to 3:03 p.m., with an oddly precise timetable, I can’t help wondering whether they are just making the numbers add up.

Long vacations and long weekends are nice once in a while if you can afford to spend a relaxing holiday with your kids. But with this many days off school, it’s pretty tough! Childcare in Canada is also expensive, and children cannot be left alone until they are quite old.

As I wrote at the beginning, working parents don’t get as many holidays as their children do. So, as a working parent in Canada, and as a Japanese parent without family nearby to rely on, I sometimes want to say, “Don’t schools have too many holidays? Aren’t they too long??” Even after many years of raising children, finding a balance with work is quite difficult in Canada. What do you think?

Oh, but even though Canadian schools have so few study hours, I have hardly ever felt there was a problem with the level or quality of education. The children learn in a relaxed, free environment, and I am very satisfied. I’d like to think about this more another time!

Free Consultations and Inquiries

Feel free to get in touch!