Education in the Southeast Towards Emptiness/Thousands Less Children in Schools

2025-09-05 10:27:00, Aktualitet CNA

Education in the southeast of the country is facing one of the biggest crises in recent years. On the eve of the start of the new school year, preliminary data shows a dramatic decline in the number of students.

This year alone, compared to the previous year, there are 3,726 fewer children in school. This is a decrease of 23 to 24 percent, a figure that experts consider alarming.

This huge decline not only affects statistics, but also puts at risk the very functioning of schools, teachers, and, ultimately, the future of hundreds of families in the city and villages. If today we talk about numbers, tomorrow this situation is expected to translate into the closure of classes, schools, and even the dismissal of teachers.

Artur Mano, vice president of the Teachers' Union in Korça, says that this is an unusual situation and an alarm bell for everyone.

"This school year is an unusual one as DRAP/ZVAP Korça are facing a major challenge which is the decline in the number of students. This year, although the figures are still not updated, the decline is drastic, 23-24% lower. This drastic decline is an alarm bell that should worry us all. The decline in the number of students is also accompanied by a reduction in the number of teachers. It is a major challenge for ZVAP Korça, which I want to thank because it has been cooperative enough not to leave any teacher without a job. If there are teachers who will be left without a teaching load, it will become impossible for them to be arranged either as assistant teachers or in other ways."

Projections for the future are even more alarming. According to a study by the union, around 2031–2032, the entire city of Korça and the surrounding villages could be left with only 120 children, functioning at best with two schools in the city.

"We are facing a decline that, according to our future projections, appears quite worrying. According to a study we conducted, around 2031-2032 and beyond, the entire Korça region, including the villages, could have only 120 children left, and there could be only two schools left in the city. This drastic decline is catastrophic."

The hardest hit are rural areas, where many schools are at risk of closing due to low student numbers.

The Belorta village school, with only 81 children, is on the verge of losing its management and will have to depend on another, larger school.

Dishnica school is also at risk, as is the "Asdreni" school in the city of Korça. The "Naum Veqilharxhi" school has also suffered a significant decline, while the position of vice-principal at the "Demokracia" school has been reduced.

"The villages are experiencing a very large decline. There are some schools that are at risk of having their directorates closed, the required number reduced below 80 students, such as the Belorta village school which has 81 students. If the school directorate falls, this school will depend on another school with a larger number of students. The Belorta school, the Dishnicë village school, the Asdreni school in the city are at risk. There is also a large decline in the Naum Vegjilharxhi school but it is not on the verge of closure, while the Demokracia school had a loss of the school's deputy director."

The decline in student numbers is becoming the biggest challenge for education in the southeast. Schools are emptying, teachers are facing uncertainty, and projections for the future are even more alarming.

If emigration, declining birth rates, and the abandonment of villages continue at this pace, Korça and the entire region risk being left with very few children within a few years, and consequently with only a few functional schools.

A grim reality that affects not only education, but the future of the entire community./ CNA