Dramatic drop in enrolled first-graders: 200 fewer classes in primary

A week before the start of the 2026/2027 school year, Minister of Education and Science Vesna Janevska announced that the system will have significantly fewer class groups — 200 fewer classes in primary schools and 100 fewer classes in secondary schools.

The minister noted that around 14,500 first-graders are enrolled for the 2026/2027 school year. Janevska also referred to a previous estimate that in the coming year we will have at least 3,000 fewer first-graders, and emphasized that fewer pupils in primary and secondary schools will inevitably lead to a smaller number of university students.

Network optimization and school closures

As part of the optimization for the introduction of single-shift instruction, the Ministry expects that 26 rural schools where no first-graders enrolled will be naturally closed. The Ministry explains this process as a consequence of demographic decline, not as a direct administrative reform that would force schools to merge.

Regarding textbooks, Janevska stressed that they have been distributed and are already in the schools. "For the first time this year, we completed that well before the start of the school year," the Minister of Education and Science Vesna Janevska said today.

On the student meal, the minister said that at this time no increase in the amount is planned because no such request has been submitted to the Ministry of Education and Science by student organizations.

Experts and the authorities warn that the reduced number of first-graders requires adjustment of plans for teaching staff, infrastructure and admission to higher education, as well as careful planning of measures in rural areas where school buildings have broader social significance.

Photo: press material from the event