Alarmed by the nation's falling science and math scores, the government is planning a little experiment: injecting real scientists into classrooms over a three-year period, starting in April.

The education ministry, hoping that children ``rediscover the joy of science and math,'' plans to allocate about 320 million yen for the first year of the program.

The highlight of the program is enlisting the help of working experts-particularly those at public institutions such as science and natural history museums and universities-as volunteers.

Researchers at those institutions as well as engineers at private companies will visit elementary and junior high schools and give lectures on a voluntary basis.

The volunteers will not only lead experiments, nature studies and engineering projects but will also tell children about their professional experiences.

The education ministry also plans to develop teaching materials, including kits for experiments, in order to assist regular teachers of science and maths classes.

If the project in selected areas is found to be effective, the ministry plans to implement it at schools throughout the country.

Concern about students' falling test scores and waning interest in the subjects led to the project idea.

In one international achievement test conducted in 2003, Japan's rank in science declined from fourth in 1999 (the last year the test was conducted) to sixth among junior high school students. Japan's rank among elementary school students declined from second in 1995 to third in 2003.

The test, sponsored by the Amsterdam-based International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, was conducted among junior high school students in 46 countries and areas and among elementary school students in 25 countries and areas.

Perhaps more alarming for education policy-makers, the percentages of elementary and junior high school students who said they liked science or math were in the range from the second to the fourth from the bottom among the countries or areas surveyed.

Meanwhile, another survey found that 42 percent of Japanese university professors and corporate researchers think the top priority in recruiting more scientists is increasing opportunities for children to become interested in science and technology.

The respondents hope to eventually attract more students to choose career paths in the fields of science and engineering.

The survey, conducted by the Mitsubishi Research Institute in September through the Internet, obtained responses from about 150 university professors, corporate researchers and engineers.

The survey asked respondents what was the most important factor in attracting people to the fields of science and technology. Only one answer was allowed.(IHT/Asahi: January 4,2005)