Schools without children: 457 educational institutions liquidated or downgraded
2 September 08:56
More than 400 schools in Ukraine have ceased operations or changed their educational status due to a small number of students. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Education and Science Nadiia Kuzmychova during a national telethon, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
According to her, as of the spring of 2024, there were 525 educational institutions in Ukraine with less than 45 children. Since the beginning of the new school year, 457 of them have either been liquidated or downgraded.
The decision to close or re-profile small schools is made by local authorities. If a school has very few students and no prospect of filling classes, it may be liquidated. In this case, the community provides transportation to other schools, Kuzmychova explained.
The level of an educational institution could also be downgraded to a “nine-year” or primary school, the deputy minister continued.
“For example, there was a school from the first to the third level, but it was small and not all classes were open. So it was re-qualified into, for example, a branch of another basic institution and now has grades one through nine, thus providing for 45 children. It could be a downgrade to a primary school. Primary schools are not subject to the 45-pupil requirement. Primary schools are funded regardless of the number of students,” informed Kuzmychova.
Also, 57 schools receive funding from local budgets, as their founders decided to keep them at their own expense.
According to Education.ua, most of the schools will be affected in Lviv, Cherkasy, Sumy, Ternopil, and Khmelnytsky regions. In addition, according to the aforementioned resolution, starting from September 1, 2026, educational subventions will no longer be provided to institutions with fewer than 60 students.
As a reminder, since September 1, schools with fewer than 45 students have not received state funding. According to the Ministry of Education and Science, this school year 88% of 3.5 million students are studying in full-time or mixed formats, and about 400,000 children have continued their education remotely.
It is worth noting that the number of schools in Ukraine is decreasing every year. While in the 2020/2021 school year there were 14,815 schools, in September 2024 there were already 12,268 general secondary education institutions.
