In the urban areas of the USA, the number of children in schools is falling. Due to the decline in the rate of population and the number of people coming from other countries, in 10 years till 2020, the number of children in the country declined by 10 lakhs. And there is a different problem in many big cities, people are leaving them to move to smaller cities. In the main public school district of Chicago, the number of children have reduced by 20 percent in 10 years, and 25 percent in Los Angeles.
Officials have said that by 2030, a decline of another 25 percent can take place. This problem has been increased by the pandemic. In 3 years after the pandemic, the admission of children in the public schools of New York has fallen by 20 percent, and the decline is 20 percent in the areas nearby. Due to the lack of students, the need to shut down schools is increasing in some cities.
Douglas Harris of the Tulane University has said that the rate of charter schools being shut down is 5 percent and that of public schools is 1 percent. As per the local government, half of the buildings in 1/3rd schools of Chicago remain empty. Despite the grip of this problem strengthening, only some urban schools are thinking about this issue seriously. Because of the additional help received during the pandemic, school unions are asking for higher wages and bonus, even in areas where there has been a downfall in student admissions. With this, an even bigger problem will arise the next year.
