Analysts have reported an impending surplus of primary school teachers

In the new academic year, the education system may face a serious imbalance: the number of primary school teachers will exceed the need. 17.3 thousand teachers of grades 1-4 may be "superfluous". On July 24, Izvestia was informed by analysts of the Teacher trade union with reference to birth rate data.

According to the analysis, the number of primary school students in the 2025-26 academic year will decrease by almost 348 thousand people.

"This means that already in the upcoming academic year, more than 17.3 thousand primary school teachers will become redundant, and in 2026-2027, almost 21.5 thousand more will be released," explained Olga Miryasova, the trade union's organizing secretary.

Miryasova recalled that in 2024, there were 20 students per teacher.

If the trend continues, in the 2026-27 academic year, the number of first—graders will decrease by another 429.7 thousand compared to the current period, and in 2027-28 - by 411 thousand.

The fact of the upcoming oversupply of personnel in the general education system was also confirmed by the Ministry of Education. They noted that the shortage of students will affect the employment of primary school teachers. To minimize the consequences, the authorities are considering various scenarios for adapting the profile of primary school teachers.

"Currently, the issue of systematic retraining of outgoing primary school teachers is being worked out in order to keep them in the education system in high—demand areas as subject teachers in primary and high schools, teachers of extended day groups, additional education teachers, psychologists, defectologists," the Ministry of Education reported.

School codes: Tens of thousands of teachers may be out of work

Due to the demographic pit of the 90s, there will be much fewer students in elementary schools in the coming years.

Earlier, on July 11, it became known that as part of the policy to promote the Russian language in higher education institutions, additional budget places will be allocated for the training of Russian language teachers and philologists. In addition, within the framework of the language policy of the Russian Federation, specialized educational programs aimed at the formation of literate writing, the development of reading and information culture of the younger generation will be developed and implemented.