Super Science High School

rdf:langString Super Science High School

rdf:langString Super Science High School (SSH) is a designation awarded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to upper secondary schools that prioritize science, technology, and mathematics. The program was launched as part of its "Science Literacy Enhancement Initiatives" in 2002. Schools with this status receive increased funding and are encouraged to develop links with universities and other academic institutions. In 2002, the first year of operation, 26 out of 77 applicant schools were awarded SSH status . As of 2006 there are 99 schools with the designation. 204 highschools are designated as SSH in 2014. [1] Highschools designated as SSH receive aid from Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). The support ranges from buying equipment to managing poster sessions.Main activities of SSH are academic studies in highschool and meetings where students present them to other highschools students, teachers, and professors. There are many other activities such as field work, visit to laboratories or museum, and correlation with highschool in other countries as well. A budget for SSH was about 700 million yen (≒7 million dollars) in 2002, but it has been increasing and it was 2.4 billion yen (≒24 million dollars) in 2011. While SSH is regarded as a good project to enhance students’ interest in science, there are also criticism that SSH is invading students’ right of studying equally.