Greece’s declining birth rates sees government suspend 5% of schools

Image credit: Tobias Rademacher / Tuyen Vo via Unsplash

As the birth rates in Greece have seen a rapid decline in recent years, the government has announced that they will be suspending 5% of schools as there are not enough pupils to fill them.

According to the Financial Times, Greece has announced that 766 schools in the country will be suspended as the new academic year begins as these schools have failed to meet the requirement to have a minimum of 15 students. This is more than 5% of the schools in the country and these closures will also affect remote villages and islands. It is believed this will result in some children, particularly from rural areas, having to travel up to 80km a day to get to school.

Since 2018, the number of students in primary education has dropped by over 111,000 (19%), according to data from the ministry of education.

“The fall is happening very fast, and in Greece it is very steep,” said Alexandra Tragaki, professor of economic demography at Harokopio University of Athens

It is, however, expected that some schools may reopen in a few years should the numbers return, but this will not be the case for most of the schools. Yet, some have remained opened with an exception.

“We’re keeping schools open with fewer pupils than the law normally allows — a costly decision, but one we believe is necessary,’’ said Sofia Zacharaki, Greece’s minister of education and religious affairs.

“No child will be left without access to education, no matter how remote their home may be,” she added.

The Financial Times reports that the declining birth rates are the cause of the suspension of these schools, where the number of births started to become lower than the number of deaths since the 2010s, a decline that has remained consistent each year. In 2022, the number of births fell to 80,000 where death rates were almost doubled.

Greece also has the lowest birth rate in Europe, of 1.35, with the average age of a woman having her first child being 32.
“Classrooms reflect the state of our maternity wards and the number of births, which, unfortunately, has been declining for decades in our country,” said Zacharaki.

Sandra Parda of the Life Institute commented, saying: “It’s very sad to see the closure of schools in Greece, especially as it could be impactful to children getting to school, but this a typical consequence of when society undervalues the importance of motherhood and having children.”

“Becoming a mother and having children is not a burden but something to cherish. Instead of discouraging motherhood by claiming that motherhood is a burdensome duty that prevents you from living life, we should be reminding people that children bring so much joy and happiness to our own lives, and that they truly are real blessing.”