Overlooked High School Students’ Needs
Distribution of personal protection alarms
Local boards of education coordinated certain
level of assistance to elementary and junior
high school students under compulsory
education periods. However, high school
students, especially those who work during
the daytime and go to school at night, did not
receive enough support. In the early stages of
evacuation, personal protection alarms were
provided to children, but these alarms were
not provided to students at night school even
though they came home later than regular
high school students, while streetlights were
not yet fixed.
One group provided alarms to these high
school students after a girl who went to night
school voiced her security concerns about
travelling to and from school. The group not
only provided alarms but also gave her
information regarding consultation services for
sexual assaults to alleviate her anxiety.
High school students looked tired because
they, like other young people, were asked to
undertake many different tasks, such as
carrying goods at evacuation centers. After
they moved into temporary housing, they did
not receive many support programs from
outside compared with children and elderly
people, due to the small number of high
school students in temporary housing
community. There were some communities
where adults thought it was not right if only
junior high and high school students gathered
at the community center of the temporary
housing site. It is necessary to listen more
carefully to the voices of high school students
who are neither children nor adults.