On February 5, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. The optimization of the general secondary education institution network will continue in the Vitebsk region in 2012, Ivan Shchurok, Head of the Education Department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, told a BELTA correspondent. According to preliminary estimates, about 20 schools will be closed and 15-17 will be restructured this year, said the head of the department, emphasizing that these processes are primarily driven by the trend of declining enrollment in general secondary education, especially in rural areas. Thus, currently 24.8 thousand schoolchildren, or 22.6%, study in rural schools, while the number of the latter is 71% of the total number of general secondary education institutions. 45% of rural schools are small schools with fewer than 50 students. At the same time, the average class size in rural areas is 7 students, while in cities it is 19.5 students. "This means that restructuring processes in the network are inevitable," stated Ivan Shchurok, explaining that work on restructuring the school network is planned by district executive committees for the future, taking into account the opinions of village councils and all the specifics of organizing further education and student transportation, employment of staff, and deciding the fate of vacated buildings. Thorough work with parents is carried out in advance to explain the options for further education of children. According to him, all this helps to minimize the painfulness of this process. In the Vitebsk region in 2011, 8 primary, 12 basic, and 2 secondary schools were closed, and 11 secondary schools were reorganized into basic schools, and 2 secondary and 5 basic schools were reorganized into primary schools. In total, over three years, 68 educational institutions have been closed and 55 have been reorganized. -0-

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