The total number of students in Macedonia has decreased by almost 17 thousand in the past 7 years, and only the number of first graders by about 3500. The trend of mass emigration is intensifying and creating a sad picture in Macedonian schools.
Many facilities, mostly in rural areas, are empty or the school buildings are functioning with only a few students.
This is shown by official data from the State Statistics Office, where it can be seen that 14 schools in the country were closed in just one year.
Today in the country there are about 3000 teachers who are redundant in the educational system and their workplace is at risk of being closed. Percentage-wise, it is about 10% of the total number of teachers hired in schools nationwide.
