Declining Birth Rate Raises Alarm, Around 20 Schools Expected to Close in North Macedonia

In September, around 4,900 fewer pupils are expected to enroll in first grade compared with last year. The figure was announced today by North Macedonia’s Minister of Education and Science, Vesna Janevska, who clarified that the data are not yet final.

Janevska attributed the decline in pupil numbers mainly to the downward trend in births and, to a lesser extent, emigration.

Asked about the fact that Shtip had 60 fewer children in the second semester alone than in the previous semester, the minister said that, in her view, emigration has not increased. She said the phenomenon fluctuates in a wave-like pattern, with periods when departures rise and others when they fall.

Despite objections raised by parents in some of the affected communities, Janevska supports the closure of satellite schools. According to her, it is not appropriate for a class—or even an entire school—to have only one child. She stressed that the goal is to improve the quality of education, while a distance of, for example, two kilometers is not unmanageable for parents.

During an appearance on TV Sitel several days ago, Janevska recalled that 20 schools closed spontaneously in 2021 and 2022, when she was not minister and the current government was not in power. She announced that around 20 satellite schools are again expected to close this year, and not only spontaneously, as a small number will also be included in the optimization process.

According to the minister, this applies to all schools with fewer than five pupils, as well as some institutions with 7-8 pupils. She described this as another temporary closure process aimed at helping pupils socialize and ensuring higher-quality education.

Janevska also mentioned cases in which five children are spread across five different classes, saying that such a situation provides neither education nor socialization. According to her, it does not foster knowledge or competition through positive skills, so children should work and interact with larger groups rather than remain isolated in certain environments./INA/