60 years as leaders in children's education

Back in 1958 in Osaka, Japan, Toru Kumon set up the Kumon Institute of Education and vowed to help as many young people as possible achieve their true potential, academically and beyond.  

60 years later, in 50 countries across the globe, we continue his work. 

A lot has changed over the past 60 years, yet Kumon has stood the test of time. Today, we maintain our founder’s philosophy and vision and continue using the method he fashioned all those decades ago when working with the very first Kumon student, his son Takeshi. 

We’ve upheld the fundamentals which made Kumon so unique and inspiring back then, such as daily practice, using a pencil on simple worksheets, independent learning and correcting our work and working things out for oneself. 

Our learning materials have evolved but their core content has changed little. Whether students are studying in Japan, the UK or South Africa, they follow the same Kumon curriculum as their international peers and as Takeshi Kumon did. Our syllabus, not subject to educational trends or changes to national curriculums, enables students to develop strong fundamental skills which allow them to study new work with confidence. 

We’re in a technological age where our competitors are moving to computer-based learning, yet our students continue to thrive with pencil and paper.

Electronic calculators were invented in the 1960s and spellcheckers on computers in the 1970s, but our students to this day rely on self-learning and mental arithmetic, not on the use of aids, to progress.

We’ve stuck to tradition and become the largest supplementary education provider in the world, currently supporting over 4 million students to develop skills to last a lifetime. 

Right at this moment, someone, somewhere is learning with Kumon and we couldn’t be prouder. 

We look forward to the next 60 years!