However, Prime Minister Koizumi regarded public schools and cram schools as being equivalent or of the same sort, asked parents-whom he regarded as users of education-to choose between them, and bashed public schools and their teachers as if education by cram schools was better. He argued that competition under the market principle was required as so-called neoliberal policy, and politically promoted the view of recognizing education as a service that should heed the voice of the user. In this context, when some students were found having graduated from high schools without completing all the required courses in 2006, it was also revealed and came to issue that some high schools taught courses for university entrance exams in a secret fashion instead of the originally required courses. Following this event, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology interviewed the heads of those schools that caused this problem and members of the Board of Education for investigation. At that time, some Board of Education members and people from those schools counter-argued that they simply did what parents demanded and did not know what was wrong about it. In other words, they definitely meant that they just followed users and were not at fault. Then I asked them "So, if parents asked you to teach their children how to steal, would you do so?" and they did not seem to know what answer to make. This means that formal education cannot be provided under the informal command of users.
In particular, two goals are expected in formal education: (1) children learn the minimum required common knowledge and skills as a citizen; and (2) children are provided with equal opportunities for developing abilities as much as possible regardless of economic or social conditions of their family or guardians. In so doing, formal education may not carry out arbitrary training, as with informal education provided by parents or cram schools. Every school in formal education acts under the restrictions imposed by laws and regulations including, in the case of Japan, the Basic Act of Education, the School Education Act and its Enforcement Regulations, and the Curriculum Guidelines.