Number of students fell one third since 2004

The number of students in 2004-2012 decreased by 33.0%, while the number of people aged between 7 and 18 fell by 30.4%, shows the data of the National Bureau of Statistics. Consequently, the average number of students in one class also declined. The average number in the 2012-2013 academic year was 20 students per class, compared with 22 students 10 years ago, Info-Prim Neo reports. The graduate students in full-time education in 2012 totaled 57,200, 38,400 of whom were secondary school graduates and 18,800 lyceum graduates. Compared with 2011-2012, the number of graduates in secondary education fell by 7.5%, while in lyceum education remained practically unchanged. Most of the students are concentrated in the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia, the central districts and the southern area. 55.8% of the students in high school classes are girls. At the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year, the number of students in special education was 2,300, down 9.8% on the previous academic year. Most of the students in these institutions have hearing, visual and cognitive impairments. There are 1,397 primary and secondary general education institutions in Moldova, including three evening schools.