There will be 62 thousand fewer first-graders in schools
This year, about 252,000 first-graders will attend Ukrainian schools, compared to 314,000 last year. This was stated in an interview with "Mirror of the Week" by Serhii Babak, a People's Deputy from "Servant of the People," and the Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science, and Innovation.
He noted that the final official data on the number of students will be available after September 5, when schools complete the formation of classes and submit reports. As of today, only operational information from local education authorities is available.
"According to operational data from local self-government bodies, this year about 252,000 first-graders will attend schools. Last year, there were 314,000. So, we have a decrease of 62,000 children," the parliamentarian said.
According to him, the reasons are obvious — a decline in birth rates and the mass outflow of children at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion.
"By 2025, hardly any six-year-olds are being taken abroad anymore; on the contrary, some are returning. But the consequences of that period and the overall negative demographic trend — the decline in birth rates — will be felt for a long time. The number of first-graders will continue to decrease, this is inevitable," Babak noted.
He also discussed the total number of students in Ukraine. This academic year, about 3.5 million students are expected. Of these, according to confirmed data to date, 10% are currently abroad or in temporarily occupied territories and are studying remotely or through other forms of education: 35,361 in the temporarily occupied territories and 302,889 abroad.
