Main Department for Education: Over 12,000 first-graders will take their seats in the Vitebsk region

Over the past five to seven years, the number of schoolchildren in the Vitebsk region has remained stable, reported Elena Bogdanovich, First Deputy Head of the Main Department for Education of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee.

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– In the 2016/2017 academic year, there were 12,050 first-graders in the region. According to preliminary data, on September 1 this year, about 12,200 children will come to schools, – noted Elena Leonidovna. – In the next couple of years, no demographic decline is expected in this regard. However, there are certain fluctuations – the number of rural schoolchildren is decreasing, and the number of urban schoolchildren is increasing. This is primarily due to the mass construction of housing for large families. Therefore, the number of rural schools is also decreasing: this year, 314 general and secondary education institutions will open their doors, which is six institutions less than last year.

According to Elena Bogdanovich, the number of eleventh-graders is also decreasing. Currently, there are slightly more than five thousand of them. Again, there is no need to worry: at the same time, the number of students who, thanks to active career guidance work, leave school after obtaining general education and enter secondary vocational education institutions is growing.

"SB"