There is no learning: why rural schools are disappearing in Russia
About 400-500 rural schools are closed in Russia every year, Izvestia estimated based on reports from the Ministry of Education on the state of the education system in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. So, in two years, 861 such schools stopped functioning. At the same time, since the beginning of the year, it became known about the impending closure of rural educational institutions in at least 11 regions of Russia. In particular, a school teaching a rare dialect of one of the three languages of the republic, Erzya, should cease to exist in Mordovia. The information about what teachers of the closing schools tell us and how the further educational process for their students will be organized is in the Izvestia material.
Where rural schools are closing
This academic year (2024/25), 21.1 thousand rural schools were operating in Russia. This is 400 fewer educational institutions than in the past, Izvestia calculated based on reports from the Ministry of Education on the state of the education system in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. And in two years, from 2022 to 2024, about 900 rural schools were closed.
For example, only in the Saratov region there were 50 fewer such educational institutions in a year, in Bashkiria — by 25, in Mordovia — by 14, in Tatarstan — by 13, in Dagestan — by 11.
Since the beginning of June 2025, at least nine more educational institutions have begun preparations for liquidation: in the Omsk Region, Mordovia, the Trans-Baikal Territory, Saratov, Yaroslavl and Volgograd regions.
So, in June 2025, residents of the village of Shoksha in Mordovia appealed to the head of the republic with a request to repair and preserve the secondary school named after Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Pryakhin.
"The closure of the national Shokshinsky school will cause irreparable harm to Mordovian (Erzyan) the language, in particular the Shokshinsky dialect. Shokshinsky school is the only Mordovian national (Erzyan) school in the district, therefore it has always been in the center of attention and aroused interest, the authors of the appeal remind. — Our school was visited by students of Lomonosov Moscow State University, as well as a Finnish delegation to study the Shokshinsky dialect. In 2007, our school became the winner of the republican contest "The Best School", and was included in the national register of "Leading Educational Institutions of Russia 2010".
Locals fear that if the school is closed, the village will lose its identity and connection with the past. Parents and teachers complained to the prosecutor's office about the decision of the district administration to recognize the school as an emergency.
"One of the reasons for the decrease in the bearing capacity of structures is the long service life, but the building has been in use for 43 years, and its service life is 125 years," they note, asking to verify the findings of the commission that examined the school.
— An expert came to us, who just took a few photos on his phone, walked around the school, he didn't have any equipment with him. The next day, the report was ready," Anastasia Senkan, a teacher of Russian and English at the Shokshinsky school, told Izvestia. — It was stated in the documents that the expert had special equipment, allegedly everything was measured, dug out, the foundation was looked at. But nothing was produced. And before that, experts said that the school was subject to restoration.
In an appeal to the prosecutor's office, Shoksha residents recalled that major repairs were planned in the school building in 2025.
"The administration of the Tengushevsky district claims that there are no funds in the budget for carrying out repair work," they said.
Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Education of Mordovia and the regional prosecutor's office asking them to provide the reasons for the impending closure of the school.
According to Anastasia Senkan, there are currently 21 students in the school. She is sure that if the educational institution is closed, the teachers will be reduced, and the children will have to travel to another area — a few kilometers from Shoksha.
— In Mordovia, there are two languages — Erzya and Moksha, and now there is also Shoksha, — the teacher reminded. — The Shokshinsky dialect has no written language. My children and I are learning the Erzya language: we sing songs and participate in contests. There is also a museum of local lore on the second floor of the school, which is quite large and interesting. We advocate for the preservation of our culture and our dialect, and we want children to speak it.
In an appeal to the head of the republic, local residents ask that, regardless of the future fate of the building and the timing of its possible restoration, the educational institution be preserved as an independent structural unit, the teaching staff remain unchanged, and the library and the museum of local lore be preserved.
What are the problems of small schools?
Yulia Ogloblina, a State Duma deputy from Mordovia (United Russia), reminded Izvestia that within the framework of the national project "Education", schools with a hundred or more students primarily fall under complete overhaul.
"We definitely need a separate renovation program for small schools," she said. — School closures are a matter of concern for families with children, but I stress that children's safety must come first.
The deputy said that she had discussed the action plan with the director of the Shokshinsky school. According to her, 23 children study at the school, eight of whom are brought from another village.
"And pursuant to the decision of the Temnikovsky district Court, the school conducted an inspection of the technical condition of the building, and it was declared an emergency," Yulia Ogloblina assured. — I asked you to provide an estimate for the roof overhaul and wiring replacement. After that, we will discuss possible sources of financing with all parties."
Since the beginning of 2025, the media has written about at least 20 rural educational institutions that have closed or are preparing for liquidation, according to Izvestia. In particular, it was reported that eight rural schools in the Omsk Region, four in the Lipetsk Region, one in the Primorsky Territory and one in the Orel region were shut down. In addition, several schools in villages of the Volgograd, Orenburg, Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk regions, the Trans-Baikal Territory, the Yaroslavl Region and Mordovia are preparing for closure.
Three rural schools have been closed in Chuvashia this year. Residents of the local village of Ikkovo opposed the closure of a small school with 20 students. In early June 2025, children and teacher Galina Nikolaeva posted a video message online asking them to save the Ikkov School named after the Chuvash poet and writer Nikolai Shubossinni.
In response to the video message, the district administration explained that the Ikkinsky school was attached to another one, which is located in the same area of the republic. They said that combining schools would improve the quality of education and provide better conditions for children.
— Transportation by school buses will be organized. And teachers will be offered available vacant places in the new school," the Cheboksary Municipal District administration said.
In Mordovia, another school is being liquidated — in the village of Staroe Sindrovo. Its building was built in 1974 and is in need of renovation.
"Instead of carrying out the work, the local administration decided to liquidate the school," the local branch of the Just Russia — For Truth party said. "There is a statement from the head of education of the Krasnoslobodsky district that the reason for the closure is the inability to maintain a school, since national projects are no longer working in the district in 2025."
In case of liquidation of the school in Stary Sindrovo, students will be transferred to an educational institution located 30 km away.
The peak of rural school closures in Russia occurred in the 2010s, Dmitry Kazakov, chairman of the Teacher trade union, reminded Izvestia.
— In fact, there is nothing much to close in rural areas, although the process continues. Closures usually occur at the end of the year," he said. — After this academic year, our trade union received about a dozen questions about such situations in Mordovia, Chuvashia and the Orenburg region.
He also described the standard situation after the closure of a small school: usually a bus is allocated to the school, which gathers children in neighboring villages, villages and towns, and brings them to class.
— They start collecting children at 6:30 a.m., that is, they have to get up very early, and some get to school long before classes start, waiting for the bus to bring the next batch of students, — said the expert. — In addition, such children are practically deprived of additional education, since clubs are held in the afternoon, and children begin to be transported back to their villages immediately after the end of lessons.
What is the condition of rural schools?
About 10% of schools in Russian villages are not equipped with basic sanitary conditions: water supply, sanitation or sewerage, a leading expert at the A.A. Center for General and Additional Education told Izvestia. Pinsky Konstantin Anchikov.
He also noted that from 2016 to 2024, the number of teachers there decreased by 9.7%, while in urban educational institutions it increased by 5.2%.
— It is more difficult to attract young teachers to villages. In rural schools, the proportion of teachers under 30 is lower than in urban schools — 11.1% and 16.7%, respectively. Former graduates often come to their native school as teachers, for whom this is a guaranteed and familiar place of employment. The Zemsky Uchitel program is also working to attract staff," Konstantin Anchikov said.
He recalled that people are increasingly leaving the village and it is becoming expensive and unprofitable to maintain a small school.
— At first glance, this formulation sounds inhumane, but the basic economic principle works here: needs are unlimited, resources are limited. Therefore, optimization of the school network has become one of the most widespread areas of educational reforms in the world practice," the expert noted.
If the region has the opportunity to properly organize the transportation of students from small rural schools to larger ones, then this is beneficial for children, says Irina Abankina, professor at the Institute for Educational Development at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.
— Large schools have teachers and the necessary equipment. All studies show that students in large schools, equipped with teachers and equipment, show better results," the expert emphasizes.
She notes that if children are transferred to schools located in neighboring districts, this does not mean that the locals will leave their native village.
— The availability of work in the village is an important consolidating factor that restrains the outflow of the population, — says the expert. — There are regions with very difficult access to other schools. These are the mountainous regions that are located on the territory of the republics of the North Caucasus, and regions with a harsh climate, for example, Yakutia or the Magadan region. They have repeatedly tried to abolish schools and even proposed boarding schools, but many believe that this detaches children from culture and family.
A part of the school buildings in sparsely populated areas that are not in use due to the small number of students can be converted into multifunctional centers, says Nikolai Makhnev, executive director of the Rural Schools of Russia project. This, according to him, will allow to preserve the educational institution, but at the same time the building will be used effectively.
— You can post medical organizations and mail there. We always look at the school only as a place where they teach, but there is a possibility of rational use of the space," he notes.
For example, in the Tambov region, a bank is located on the territory of one of the schools, he said.
Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Education with a request to inform what the department's position is on the closure of rural schools, as well as what recommendations and suggestions are available to ensure the right of children to education from small settlements. No response had been received at the time of publication.
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