The government established the [[Ministry of Education]] in [[1871]], on the French model of a centrally administered education system and nationwide curriculum. Much of the Ministry's first budget, in [[1873]], was dedicated to bringing foreign teachers to Japan, and one-eighth of the entire budget was devoted to funding Japanese students to travel abroad; two hundred and fifty did so that year. By the 1880s, however, with Japan's own education system (including universities on the Western model) more firmly established, the number of students traveling abroad each year diminished, to around 50-80 students per year. | The government established the [[Ministry of Education]] in [[1871]], on the French model of a centrally administered education system and nationwide curriculum. Much of the Ministry's first budget, in [[1873]], was dedicated to bringing foreign teachers to Japan, and one-eighth of the entire budget was devoted to funding Japanese students to travel abroad; two hundred and fifty did so that year. By the 1880s, however, with Japan's own education system (including universities on the Western model) more firmly established, the number of students traveling abroad each year diminished, to around 50-80 students per year. |