Belarus Lost 108 Thousand Students Since 2015
- 2.08.2023, 18:56
Also, in just a year, there were 27,000 fewer preschoolers.
The latest data on the education sector, published in the new statistical compilation of Belstat, show a noticeable decrease in the number of children in Belarusian kindergartens and university students in recent years, especially in 2022. Zerkalo reports the details.
The number of children attending kindergartens in 2022 amounted to 378.2 thousand people, which is 27.3 thousand less than a year earlier. And in 2018, there were 435.1 thousand children in kindergartens, that is, in five years there were 57 thousand, or 13%, fewer of them. At the same time, the level of enrollment in kindergartens is growing — it has gained 9% since 2018 and is already 89.2% among children from 1 to 5 years old.
At the same time, if the regional kindergartens “lost” 2-4 thousand children each year, then Minsk lost 9.6 thousand children.
However, in schools there were no less children, and even a little more: at the beginning of the 2021/22 academic year there were 1 million 76 thousand, and in the 2022/23 academic year — 1 million 85.6 thousand. There is a small increase in Minsk and all regions.
At the same time, the decrease in the number of children who are engaged in hobby groups, studios, and sections of institutions of additional education is indicative. In 2022, there were 369.3 thousand people, while a year earlier — 385.4 thousand.
The number of students receiving secondary specialized and vocational education also remained approximately at the level of last year. In five years, it has decreased by 5-6 thousand people.
In higher education, however, the picture is quite different. A significant decrease in the number of students has been observed in recent years, but the sharpest jump down occurred in 2022.
The number of students in universities at the beginning of the last academic year amounted to 238.5 thousand people. This is 16.7 thousand less than the previous year. Per 10,000 population, the index of the number of students decreased from 276 to 259.
The table provides detailed data by year.
Thus, since 2015, the number of students in Belarus has decreased by 108 thousand people, their index has fallen from 366 to 259 people per 10 thousand people, that is, by 29%. Over the past five years, the number has fallen by 44.3 thousand people, and the index by 13.6%.
Minsk, of course, lost the most students — minus 25 thousand people in five years. In the regions, the number of students decreased by 4-7 thousand, Hrodna lost the least.
At the same time, the number of graduates who undergo compulsory job placement has grown slightly in recent years, but the percentage of specialists who have been given the right to self-employment after studying on a budget has not exceeded 0.1% since 2018, although back in 2017 was 1.1%.