- Статьи
- Society
- I walked out the wrong door: in Russia, for the first time in 6 years, the number of children not enrolled in schools has increased
I walked out the wrong door: in Russia, for the first time in 6 years, the number of children not enrolled in schools has increased
The number of children out of school has increased for the first time in six years. Compared to 2024, the indicator increased by 10%. Experts do not consider this a trend, but they say that such children are joining the share of the illiterate population of Russia. Teenagers will find jobs and contribute to the economy, but they will not be able to climb the career ladder. The information about how many children are not in school, how their place of residence affects their withdrawal from education, who minors will become, and what measures the state is taking is in the Izvestia article.
Recent statistics data
In Russia, about 6.65 thousand children do not go to school. This follows from the report of the Ministry of Education "Information on the number of minors aged 7-17 years who are not enrolled in educational organizations" as of May 1. Compared to the same period last year, the indicator increased by about 10%.
According to the report, 1.9 thousand out of 6.6 thousand minors who do not study in educational institutions are residents of villages. And more than 4 thousand of the total number of such children are boys.
However, experts do not fully trust statistics. They believe that the data collection methods are opaque, which is why the result is inaccurate.
"To understand how many children did not go to school, you need to know exactly how many school—age children live in the region," explains Daniel Alexandrov, professor and head of the Laboratory of Sociology of Education at the St. Petersburg branch of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, in a conversation with Izvestia. — I doubt the quality of such data. Take, for example, the population census — the last one was conducted mainly according to old data and house books, which indicate who is registered in the apartment. But many people do not live in their place of residence, but in other cities.
Ksenia Tenisheva, PhD in Sociology, associate professor at the European University and the National Research University of Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, says that the problem lies in the data collection itself. The figures are collected by multi-level bodies, which are aggregated by the ministry as a result. The specialist believes that not all children are included in the statistics, since the number of minors not enrolled in schools is an indicator of the effectiveness of the authority.
According to the Ministry of Education, figures for such children are provided by local governments that manage education. According to Article 9 of the Federal Law "On Education", local governments must keep records of children who are enrolled in educational programs for preschool, primary general, basic general and secondary general education.
Experts note that statistics, for example, may not show some of the migrant children. In June, Russian Deputy Interior Minister Igor Zubov reported that there were more than 638,000 migrant minors in Russia, of whom about half were not in school.
Among the oddities in the statistics of the Ministry of Education, Ksenia Tenisheva calls the prevalence of male children, as well as those who live in cities.
— In these statistics, there are much fewer girls than boys. This is strange. In almost all countries, the general global trend is the opposite — girls are more likely to drop out of the education system, they are taken away to start a family. The second thing that seems rather strange here is that there are fewer such children in rural schools than in urban ones. This also contradicts general trends. It is usually the rural population that drops out of school education, including due to the low availability of rural schools," says the sociologist.
Trend and norm
Every year from 2019 to 2024, the number of children not enrolled in schools has gradually decreased. If in 2019 there were 8.5 thousand such minors, then in 2024 there were already 6 thousand. However, the number has increased this year.
— Fluctuations have been occurring all this time (from 2019 to 2025. — Izvestia). In 2019, there were as many as 2,000 more such children than in 2025. The indicator seemed to be decreasing, now it seems to have grown. But the last fluctuations are very small, there is statistically not such a big difference between 6 thousand and 6.6 thousand. From this point of view, we cannot say that we are talking about a noticeable upward trend. We see that, rather, the number of such children has decreased since 2019. Whether it will grow, we can say later," comments Ksenia Tenisheva.
Daniil Alexandrov also considers this year's statistical changes to be an error.
Sociologists estimate the figure of 6.6 thousand minors who are not enrolled in schools in different ways. Liana Gabrelian, a lecturer in sociology and political science at the All-Russian State University (RPA of the Ministry of Justice of Russia), an expert at the Infowork educational marketplace, considers the figure to be "average."
— 6 thousand is a vanishing figure. It is not noticeable on a national scale. Most of our children go to school. They may be late, they may attend some other school than a regular one, or they may be home-schooled. In this sense, school education in Russia is total and successful. In the ocean of Russian education, 6,000 is a drop," Daniil Alexandrov tells Izvestia.
According to the latest population census, about 18 million children aged 7-17 years live in Russia.
Russians who do not study are adding to the share of the country's illiterate population, Ksenia Tenisheva believes. This may also have an impact on the Russian economy.
— If we calculate the relative figure, then 6.6 thousand is about 0.05% of all children involved in school education in Russia in 2025. That's quite a bit. On the other hand, if we think about their future trajectories and what contribution they can make to human capital, it's probably a lot. Those who do not enter the school system or drop out of it at the first stages of education, then contribute to the proportion of the illiterate population in Russia. Fortunately, she is very small. But nevertheless, — says Ksenia Tenisheva.
The reasons why they don't go to school
The number of those who do not attend school increases with increasing age. If there are 69 such people among seven-year—olds, then 451 among 14-year—olds, and 2.3 thousand among 17-year-olds.
About 1.1 thousand children do not go to school for health reasons. But the majority of minors, 5.5 thousand people, do not attend an educational institution for disrespectful reasons. Almost 2 thousand children are on the preventive register.
Experts believe that there are many different reasons why children do not attend schools.
— Today, we increasingly meet families who are not geographically tied to a particular region: they work remotely, travel and see this "movement" as a kind of educational impulse for the child, without "tying" him to classical school, — explains Liana Gabrelian.
According to her, the children of the relocants also influence the statistics. When the parents left their permanent place of residence, the children were preschoolers, but now they have grown up and are studying from abroad.
Experts note that the reasons may be the mentality of the family and the desire of the child.
— Some girls drop out of school at some age because it's time for them to help with household chores, and then they get married. Moreover, these may not be migrants, but citizens of the Russian Federation. I know such families in traditional ethnic groups in Russia. The children were born in our country, all Russian citizens," says Daniil Alexandrov.
People belonging to such ethnic groups take girls out of school so that they can start a family, explains Ksenia Tenisheva. According to her, they are systematically withdrawn upon completion of secondary education, which correlates with the figures of the Ministry of Education report. In addition, a considerable percentage of minors who do not attend school come from disadvantaged, poor families. Such children go to work early.
According to the report, 695 minors do not attend school due to employment, 567 people from poor families.
— The reason may be related to problems of adaptation in a peer group, conflicts with teachers. Not least of all are the problems in the teenager's family, because of which the child does not have time to study at all. High school students have an emotional background that is very vulnerable to negative events, and cognitive activity requires concentration and discipline, which is almost impossible to achieve in conditions of impaired self-regulation due to family problems," Olesya Tolstukhina, a clinical psychologist at the Doctor Nearby medical technology company, tells Izvestia.
Teachers' focus only on talented students can also be a reason for not attending school, says Igor Niesov, a member of the Academic Council of the Academy of Social Technologies, Candidate of Psychological Sciences. Students who do not demonstrate high achievements receive less attention. Without the prospect of unlocking their potential, such children may drop out of school.
The decision not to attend an educational institution is also influenced by the type of settlement. According to Daniil Alexandrov, rural residents sometimes do not go to schools because they do not consider it necessary. This choice is also influenced by the unavailability of schools. It is not uncommon for one school to operate in many villages. Without regular transportation, you have to drive several kilometers.
In addition, the choice of going to school or not going to school is influenced by geography. Regional reports show that there are more teenagers out of school in the south and north of the country than in the central part. Although there are exceptions, for example, in Chechnya and Dagestan, the figures are low.
According to the report of the Ministry of Education, in absolute terms, the Krasnodar Territory leads in the number of out-of-school students (529 children), the Rostov Region is in second place (503), and the Perm Territory is in third (419). In terms of population, 0.09% do not study in the Krasnodar Territory, 0.03% in the Yaroslavl Region, 0.01% in the Rostov Region, and 0.01% in the Perm Region. For example, 0.0002% of minors in Moscow do not go to school, and 0.002% in the Moscow Region.
The future of children
The fate of those who did not go to school may be different. For example, girls who were taken away from institutions to start a family are more likely to be housewives. But some of the children can become qualified specialists.
Experts note that some children continue to gain knowledge. They are switching to homeschooling. A child from an educated family can leave school because he gets less information there — he studies at home according to an enhanced program.
Those who have stopped attending school and are studying somewhere else are more likely to find a job, but they will not move up the career ladder, experts believe.
— Most often, such children enter the labor market early. Today there are a large number of vacancies that do not require a diploma or any training. These are different rewriters, unskilled digital specialties, service market specialties, and the same couriers with high salaries. These can also be professions in the agricultural sector. You can work and get paid. But career growth will be terribly complicated, as well as horizontal mobility," comments Ksenia Tenisheva.
Some children may become bloggers. According to Igor Niesov, today the structure of teenagers' values has changed, it no longer includes work, making efforts to achieve success. This is due to the fact that bloggers and artists become opinion leaders, demonstrating the ability to be successful, ostensibly without putting in much effort.
Measures to "retain" children
According to the law "On Education", primary general, basic general and secondary general education are mandatory in Russia. If a person has not completed nine grades, he cannot continue further education.
— Secondary education is compulsory until the age of 18. There is only one way to leave school before receiving a ninth grade certificate: the student has already turned 15, and the parents, the juvenile Affairs commission, and local authorities have given their permission. At the same time, they are obliged to help the teenager start studying in a different form within a month or, if he agrees, get a job," explains Lyubov Dukhanina, Chairman of the Council for Professional Qualifications in Education, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences.
According to her, in order to prevent such a scenario, schools are implementing programs to foster a responsible attitude to learning, resilience, and career guidance. This is how they help a child choose a profession and motivate them to go to college or university. In addition, children have the right to psychological help. But the shortage of specialists makes it difficult to provide timely support and increases the risk of children dropping out of the education system.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
