170 elementary schools cannot hold entrance ceremonies this year

There are expected to be 170 elementary schools that will not hold an entrance ceremony this year due to the absence of new students. The only regions within the district with all elementary schools having incoming students are Seoul and Gwangju. As the school-age population sharply declines due to low birth rates, many elementary schools are facing a survival crisis.

 

According to the '2025 Academic Year Elementary School Class Organization Results' (draft) received from 16 city and provincial education offices across the country, excluding North Gyeongsang Province, the number of elementary schools (including branch schools) with no incoming students scheduled for next month was 143 across 16 cities and provinces.

 

Gyeongbuk Provincial Office of Education refused to disclose the information, citing the large number of schools, but it was reported to be similar to the previous year (27 schools). Assuming 27 schools, the total number of schools with no incoming students reaches 170. This is about 10 more than the 157 schools as of February last year.

 

Even when looking at only the 16 regions excluding North Gyeongsang Province, the number of schools increased from 130 to 143. Some schools that did not accept new students last year have closed, indicating that the situation has worsened. However, a Ministry of Education official explained, "There may be some changes in the final number of students in March due to students moving schools in February, such as for relocation."

 

 

Last year, there were five regions with upcoming elementary school entrants: Seoul, Gwangju, Daejeon, Ulsan, and Sejong, but this year, only two regions, Seoul and Gwangju.

 

The region with the most schools with no incoming students is Jeonnam, with 32 schools (20 main schools and 12 branch schools), accounting for 7.0% of all elementary schools (458 schools). Following that are Gyeongnam with 26 schools (18 main schools and 8 branch schools), Jeonbuk with 25 schools (24 main schools and 1 branch school), Gangwon with 21 schools (15 main schools and 6 branch schools), and Chungnam with 16 schools (9 main schools and 7 branch schools).

 

There were no new students at Incheon (4 main campuses and 3 branch campuses), Chungbuk (3 main campuses and 4 branch campuses), Jeju (3 branch campuses), Sejong, Daegu, and Busan (1 main campus each), as well as Gyeonggi, Ulsan, and Daejeon (1 branch campus each).

 

Sejong, since its launch in 2012, has boasted the highest birth rate among all provinces and cities nationwide, setting a record of increasing elementary school enrollments every year until 2022. However, after the growth trend slowed in 2023, this year saw the first school (Yeondong Elementary School) with no new students. Eight schools had fewer than 10 new students.

 

Gangwon held a graduation ceremony with only one expected entrant at 23 schools. In Chungnam, 223 schools with fewer than 10 expected entrants accounted for 53.0% of the 420 elementary schools in the area. In Jeju Island, 41 schools with fewer than 10 expected entrants made up 34.2% of the total 120 elementary schools.

 

The situation in the city (municipal) area is also not good. Gwangju has all elementary schools scheduled to admit students this year, but including one at Central Elementary, the total number of students expected to be admitted to 10 schools is less than 10. Busan has 29 schools and Daejeon 11 schools with fewer than 10 incoming students. Seoul also experienced a decline in the number of students scheduled to enter this year (53,956 students), down 9.3% from the previous year (59,492 students), and the shadow of low birth rates continues to affect all regions.

 

The situation is expected to worsen further. The number of children born in 2019 (300,000) who will enter school next year is 24,000 fewer than the 327,000 born in 2018 who are entering this year, and the number of births in 2020 is 272,000, in 2021 is 261,000, and in 2022 is 249,000, with the number of births decreasing by tens of thousands each year. This means that in the coming years, the number of new students will decrease by tens of thousands annually. The number of elementary school students fell below 350,000 (353,713) for the first time last year, and it is projected to drop to the 200,000s by 2027.

 

The number of schools closing their doors is increasing. In Jeonnam, eight elementary schools will close on March 1st. In Jeonbuk, seven elementary schools and one middle school have been decided to close. In Gangwon, seven elementary schools are set to close. Gyeonggi Province will close five elementary schools and Bun-dang Cheongsol Middle School. Cheongsol Middle School is the first case of school closure among the 'First-Generation New Towns' (Bundang, Ilsan, Jung-dong, Pyeongchon, Sanbon). In Seoul, Gyeongseo Middle School is facing closure in 2027.

 

 

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There are no new students, and the number of closed schools is increasing, so naturally, the number of teachers is decreasing as well, and the quality of classes will start to decline.

 

This is really a big deal.