Shut-down schools tell the story of a population in decline

For centuries, the infant school in Champorcher, in the Aosta Valley, has been an integral part of the community, with the sound of children's voices in the playground providing a beacon of hope for the mountain village's survival

- Angela Giuffrida

In September, however, the school fell eerily silent. It was forced to close after only two pupils enrolled.

"When a school closes, a village dies," said Stefania Girodo Grant, the headteacher of a cluster of schools including those in Champorcher. "Because the future of a village depends on births."

Empty cots in maternity units had already become the haunting symbol of Italy's dramatically declining birthrate. The number of births reached a historic low of 393,000 in 2022. Now classrooms are emptying across the country as the demographic crisis moves up the age brackets.

According to data from Tuttoscuola, a news outlet that specialises in education, Italy's infant schools lost 456,408 enrolments - equal to almost 30% of pupils over the past decade. And if the fall in the birthrate continues at the current annual pace, the government forecasts 1.4 million fewer students aged between three and 18 by 2034, and the closure of 600,000 schools.

"Italian schools are vanishing like the melting glaciers," said Giovanni Vinciguerra, the director of Tuttoscuola. "This phenomenon started with the infant schools, and inevitably it will spread to primary and secondary schools."