◀ Anchor ▶
The number of students entering elementary school this year is expected to fall to the 300,000 level for the first time in history.
In particular, in the case of Seoul, the number of new students decreased by 10%, reaching the 50,000 level for the first time.
As the number of students decreases, the number of schools closing nationwide is expected to increase.
Reporter Seoyoung Yoo will report.
◀ Report ▶
Children enter the classroom holding mom and dad’s hands.
These are prospective elementary school students born in 2017 who will enroll in March.
[김지호/예비 초등생]
“It’s embarrassing, but it’s also fun. I’ll teach class bravely when I come back soon.”
Parents have mixed expectations and concerns about whether their children will adapt well to school.
[류승희/학부모]
“These days, there are fewer children in the class, so there are concerns that they may grow up in a somewhat limited society…”
The number of students enrolled in this elementary school is about 120.
They say there are quite a few, but the situation is different in other elementary schools across the country.
The number of elementary school students this year is expected to decrease from last year to around 300,000.
There are about 413,000 students who received school enrollment notices this year, but the number of children who actually enroll due to overseas migration or health reasons usually only accounts for about 90% of eligible students.
Considering that the number of children born in 2017 who are mainly entering school this year is around 350,000, it is expected that the number will fall below 400,000 for the first time this year.
In Seoul, which ranked last in the country last year with a total fertility rate of 0.59, the number of enrolled students decreased by about 10% from last year, falling below 60,000 for the first time.
Last year, there were 34 schools in Seoul with less than 30 first-grade students, and there were 146 elementary schools nationwide without a single new student.
[학부모 (음성변조)]
“My child doesn’t have many friends at school, so he often says he wants to go to another school.”
The problem is that as low birth rates become a reality, the number of new students may drop to the 200,000 level in two years.
Education authorities are even coming up with a desperate solution called ‘school consolidation’, but there are also concerns that the right to education, such as commuting to school from long distances, may be violated.
This is Yoo Seo-young from MBC News.
Video coverage: Jaehoon Han, Jihwan Lim / Video editing: Yubin Heo
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2024-01-03 11:03:11
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