Falling Enrollment Forces School Closures in Greece, Highlighting Island Crisis
Due to declining enrollment across Greece this year, authorities have closed 75 schools, a situation exemplified on the island of Kalamos where a single teacher faces dwindling student numbers.
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According to the South China Morning Post, the reduction in student enrollment throughout Greece this year has led to the closure of 75 schools.
On the idyllic Greek island of Kalamos, the only teacher at the final remaining school reports a decreasing number of students each autumn, with only two students present this year. On September 23, the sixth-grade students were seated at Chryssa Ntalaka's desk beneath the whiteboard, positioned before numerous unused desks and benches. When these students transition to middle school on the Greek mainland next year, her school is scheduled to be mothballed. Furthermore, the nearby kindergarten has remained closed for three years, with its toys and picture books still on the shelves.
Ntalaka stated that typically, teachers are assigned to these islands against their preference. However, regarding Kalamos, she noted that, to her knowledge, there are teachers and kindergarten teachers who are willing to relocate, but there are no children.
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