Calabria lost 263 schools over the past decade, ranking as the second region in Italy for closed educational institutions according to new data from Save the Children.
The total emerges from the XVII edition of the Atlante dell’infanzia a rischio in Italia, titled “Scuola liberatutti”. Across the country, the report tracks roughly 800,000 fewer students and 1,571 shuttered schools during the same ten-year window.
Multigrade classes are growing more common in areas where per-grade enrollment dips below ten students. These classrooms group eight to 18 students of varying ages together as a direct result of demographic decline.
Primary schools in Calabria feature multigrade setups in 5.1% of classrooms, trailing the higher marks in Basilicata and Molise at 5.9%. Meanwhile, Calabrian provinces exceed national averages for infant schools running empty classes with very few children.
Cosenza leads those provincial figures with 60.1% of infant classes classified as empty or at risk, followed by Reggio Calabria at 56.5% and Vibo Valentia at 56.4%. Crotone records 55.4% and Catanzaro reaches 53.6%, all outstripping the 35.7% national average.
Structural safety also challenges the region's educational network. Across Italy, nearly two out of every three school buildings lack an occupancy certificate, while Calabria records 71.8% of its structures operating without that official documentation.
More than a third of Italian schools lack all three essential safety credentials covering building occupancy, fire prevention, and heating plant homologation. In Calabria, that specific shortfall jumps to 55.7%, adding to the region's aging infrastructure.
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