Long gone is the baby boom of the 60's when the number of schools in Spain had to expand. Today, many are closing.

Yes, the low natality rate is leaving many classrooms in the province with unoccupied desks, despite the school year beginning with 2,059 children between the ages three and 16.

The fact is that the number of new school children beginning their primary education has almost halved.

As for the whole of Andalucía, there are 17,000 pupils fewer in state classrooms at junior-school level. For the first time the number of pupils in secondary schools has dropped by 3,000, 750 of which correspond to the province of Granada.

A bit further up in the educational field, where schooling is no longer obligatory, (Bachillerato y Formación Profesional) the number has increased by 12,000, especially in the latter, which correspond to technical college in the British system.

Because of this drop in junior and senior school population, the provincial education boards have requested that the Junta uses this situation to drop the number of pupils in classes, rather than shut down schools or lay off teachers.

(News/Noticias: Granada, Andalucia)