Overview

• Authorities report that two-thirds of Bizkaia’s schools have lost students since 2020, amounting to a 10% overall enrollment drop.
• Persistent under-enrollment has forced the closure of small schools and consolidation of classes through mergers.
• Twenty-one municipalities have rolled out financial aid plans aimed at boosting birth rates and replenishing future school rolls.
• Growing immigration has supported overall population figures but has not offset shrinking infant and primary school cohorts.
• Education officials call for deep school-system planning and more attractive living conditions to prevent school stigmatization and stabilize communities.