Marche school enrollment declines due to demographic shifts

The Marche region in Italy is facing a structural decline in school enrollment due to falling birth rates. For the 2026/2027 academic year, the number of students is reported at 187,247, representing a 3.44% decrease over the last three years.

The decline is most pronounced in primary schools, which saw a 6.41% drop, and nursery schools, which fell by 4.81%. In contrast, secondary school enrollment remains relatively stable, with only a 0.44% decrease in upper secondary education.

Despite the demographic shift, regional authorities and the Regional School Office (USR) highlight maintained educational quality. Notably, Marche is the only Italian region with an average Italian language score in fifth-grade primary school that is significantly above the national average, according to INVALSI results.

In response to these trends, the Cisl Marche trade union has called for a stable dialogue between institutions, families, and the labor market to build an educational pact. They have proposed the creation of territorial school campuses to ensure service accessibility in internal areas and to avoid the mere closure of smaller schools.