HIGASHIOMI, Shiga -- Two junior high schoolers here were told the wrong pass-fail results for high school entrance exams, the local education board announced March 24.

The mix-up was due to mistakes in the list of exam-takers prepared beforehand by the junior high school in Higashiomi, Shiga Prefecture. According to the municipal education board, a teacher in charge of career guidance entered the wrong test-taker numbers when creating the list, which also showed which high schools the students wished to attend.

The junior high school on March 12 was given the exam numbers of those who were admitted to the high schools, and conveyed the faulty results to the students upon checking the data with the error-containing list.

The student who was told that they had passed reportedly found out this was incorrect after joining an info session for new students at the prefectural high school. That institution then contacted the junior high school, telling them, "A student who didn't pass our entrance exam is at the info session," leading to the discovery of the error.

Although it is possible for students to view the announcements of passing students at high schools, in this city it is reportedly a rule in principle for junior high schools to tell their students the results.

The student who had actually passed has decided to go on to the school. Since the failing student had other schools of choice, they have been admitted to a different institution.

At the junior high school, the dispatch of school counselors is being proposed to provide mental health care for the students. To prevent a recurrence, the school will have multiple staffers check the administrative procedures related to career paths, and the education board has decided to make a procedural manual.

(Japanese original by Takehiro Hasegawa, Nagahama Local Bureau)