Education in rapid decline, the number of pupils and students fell by 3.7%

2024-05-03 15:11:00, Aktualitet CNA

Education in rapid decline, the number of pupils and students fell by 3.7%

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From year to year, the rate of decline of students in education is increasing as a result of the drop in births and high emigration in the young population.

According to official INSTAT data, in the 2023-2024 school year, 533,711 pupils and students were enrolled in formal education, with a decrease of 3.7%, compared to the 2022-23 school year.

In the 2023-24 school year, 416,538 students and children were enrolled in pre-university (up to upper secondary) education, marking a decrease of 3.8%, compared to the 2022-23 school year.

A total of 66,711 children participate in preschool education during this school year, 4.4% less, compared to the previous school year.

In 9-year education, 258,072 students were enrolled, 54.7% in primary education and 45.3% in the upper cycle of basic education. Compared to the 2022-23 school year, 3.4% fewer students participate in 9-year education.

In the 2023-24 school year, 88.7% of 9-year education students were enrolled in public education institutions and 11.3% in private education institutions. Among students enrolled in 9-year education, girls make up 47.9% of the total.

In the school year 2023-24, 91,755 students were enrolled in higher secondary education, marking a decrease of 4.3%, compared to the previous school year.

In the year 2023-24, the majority of the students enrolled in higher secondary education will be high school and social-cultural secondary education students of 82.1%.

This proportion has remained almost at the same level throughout the last three years. The majority of students enrolled in upper secondary education attend education in public educational institutions (85.0%).

In the school year 2023-24, the number of teachers in 9-year education is 24,109, among whom 78.0% are women.

The pupil-teacher ratio in public primary education is 15.1 and in private primary education is 15.2. While in the higher cycle of 9-year education, the student-to-teacher ratio in public education is 7.9 and in private education 8.0. The number of teachers in higher secondary education is 8,307 of which 69.6% are women. The student-to-teacher ratio in upper secondary education is 11.5 in public education and 9.1 in private education.

179 students were enrolled in post-secondary education, not higher, in the 2023-24 school year. Women make up 39.7% while men make up 60.3%. 71.5% of them follow the "Real Estate Brokerage" qualification, 17.9% "Automation Technology" and 10.6% "Design and Fashion".

In the academic year 2023-24, 116,994 students continue their studies in all higher education programs, marking a decrease of 3.6% compared to 2022-23.

Students participating in public higher education make up 72.3% of the total number of students. In all higher education programs, in the academic year 2023-24, 68,305 female students participate, or 58.4% of the total number of students in higher education. In bachelor programs, for the same period, 67,283 students participated in higher education, marking a decrease of 5.5% compared to 2022-23.

In the academic year 2023-24, as in the previous academic year, students prefer the field of study "Business, administration and law", where a quarter of the total number of students is concentrated.

Other most preferred fields are: "Health and wellness" and "Engineering, manufacturing and construction" with respectively 20.9% and 19.7% of the total number of registered students. The "Health and well-being" field is also the field with the largest increase in registered students compared to last year (8.8%)./Monitor