Low 1980s birthrate leads to big drop in enrollment figures at Greek schools

Study examines number of pupils attending elementary and secondary schools over past 20 years

By Manolis Y. Drettakis

The significant drop in the student population caused by the decrease in Greece’s birthrate has been explored in many articles.

The drop occurred mainly during the 1980s, when births fell from 148,000 in 1980 to 100,000 at the end of the decade. This significant decrease coincided with the reclassification of assignments of the student population within public and private education.

Below is a brief synopsis of a recent study on enrollment in Greek public and private elementary and secondary schools. The study was divided into two sections, charting the decades between the academic years of 1984-85 to 1994-95 and 1994-95 to 2004-05.

The first section grouped the data into the following categories: The number of students enrolled in public elementary, junior high and senior high schools and technical or professional schools for the 1984-85 academic year, the 1994-95 academic year and the change in enrollment within the decade; the number of students enrolled in private schools in those categories in the 1984-85 academic year, the 1994-95 academic year and the change in enrollment within the decade; and the change in the number of students enrolled in public and private education within the decade.

Here’s what the data for public schools showed. Elementary school enrollment dropped by 180,207 students — from 835,922 in 1984-85 to 655,715 in 1994-95. Junior high enrollment dropped by 5,060 students, from 422,630 to 417,570, although senior high enrollment increased by 4,544, from 254,334 to 258,878. Professional and technical school enrollment increased a strong 52,980, from 92,083 to 145,063. Overall, there was a drop of 127,743, from 1,604,969 to 1,477,266.

Private schools did not see such decreases, except on the elementary level, which saw enrollment drop by 2,566 — from 53,726 in 1984-85 to 51,160 in 1994-95. Private junior high enrollment increased by 4,051, from 14,226 to 18,277. High school enrollment increased by 4,717, from 10,084 to 14,801. Technical and private school enrollment increased by 5,035, from 9,460 to 14,495. And total enrollment in private schools increased 11,237, from 87,496 to 98,733.

According to this first set of data, it appears that in the decade between the academic years 1984-85 and 1994-95 the drop in the birthrate during the 1980s primarily affected the student population in elementary schools, and less so the student population in junior high schools.

In the combined private-public student population, the number of students plummeted by 20.5 percent in elementary schools and fell slightly (0.2 percent) in junior high schools, but increased slightly (about 3.5 percent) in high schools. Technical and professional schools saw the biggest increase (57.1 percent). The total student population in elementary and secondary education dropped by 116,506 students, or about 6.9 percent, within the decade.

The second set of data shows similar trends for the decade between the academic years 1994-95 and 2004-05.

According to these results, the drop in the birthrate in the 1980s showed up more prominently during this decade. As a result, the student populations in elementary and secondary education all showed considerable decreases, especially in private junior high schools and senior high schools.

In public education, elementary school enrollment dropped by 57,443 (from 659,172 in 1994-95 to 601,729 in 2004-05). Junior high enrollment decreased by 101,130 (from 418,522 to 317,392). Senior high enrollment dropped by 40,273 (from 262,797 to 222,524). Technical and professional school enrollment dropped by 17,419, from 145,350 to 127,931. And total enrollment in public education dropped 216,265, from 1,485,841 to 1,269,576.

In private education, elementary school enrollment dropped by 6,181, from 50,957 to 44,776. Junior high enrollment increased by 356, from 17,800 to 18,156. Senior high enrollment rose by 2,456, from 14,746 to 17,202. Technical and professional school enrollment fell by 11,297, from 15,072 to 3,775. And total enrollment in private education dropped by 14,666, from 98,575 to 83,909.

Total enrollment in all grades of both private and public education dropped by 230,931 students, from 1,584,416 to 1,353,485 or 14.6 percent — more than twice as much as the decade between the academic years 1984-85 and 1994-95.

(1) Manolis Drettakis is a former vice president of Parliament and minister and a professor at the Athens University of Economics and Business.