Enrolment Continues Downward Trend

Student enrolment in Nova Scotia's public schools continues to drop. As of September 2001, there were 2,258 fewer students than in the 2000-01 school year.

All areas of the province experienced a decline in the last year, ranging from 2.9 per cent in Cape Breton-Victoria to 0.5 per cent in Halifax. Overall provincial decline is 1.4 per cent. The decline is consistent with an aging population and the shift toward smaller families.

In the past five years, enrolment declined by 10,326 students. The number of teachers has remained relatively constant during the same time period. Education funding for grades Primary to 12 increased by $19 million over the last two years.

Overall enrolment is expected to continue its downward trend with 11,000 fewer students by 2005-06. Department of Education statistics show a continuous decline since the highest reported enrolment in 1970-71 at 215,889.

Demographic information is critical in the planning and delivery of education programs and services. To that end, the Department of Education is spearheading an analysis of the impact of declining student enrolment on program delivery throughout the province.

The group conducting the analysis has representation from the department, the Nova Scotia School Boards Association, school board staff, and the Nova Scotia Teachers Union. The group will also recommend strategies to deal with issues resulting from declining enrolment.

NOTE: Overall student enrolment and enrolment by school board is listed below.

Overall Provincial Enrolment

1996-97: 163,941
1997-98: 162,359
1998-99: 160,011
1999-2000: 158,205
2000-01: 155,873
2001-02: 153,615*

Projected Provincial Enrolment

2002-03: 151,598
2003-04: 148,679
2004-05: 145,498
2005-06: 142,544

Annapolis Valley Regional School Board

1996-97: 18,511
1997-98: 18,458
1998-99: 18,219
1999-2000: 18,039
2000-01: 17,767
2001-02: 17,449*
2002-03 projected: 17,246
2005-06 projected: 16,239

Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board

1996-97: 24,024
1997-98: 23,394
1998-99: 22,411
1999-2000: 21,829
2000-01: 21,080
2001-02: 20,475*
2002-03 projected: 19,783
2005-06 projected: 17,760

Chignecto-Central School Board

1996-97: 28,140
1997-98: 27,716
1998-99: 27,275
1999-2000: 26,966
2000-01: 26,630
2001-02: 26,155*
2002-03 projected: 25,997
2005-06 projected: 24,482

Consiel scolaire acadien provincial

1996-97: 4,153
1997-98: 4,182
1998-99: 4,254
1999-2000: 4,171
2000-01: 4,109
2001-02: 4,029*
2002-03 projected: 4,019
2005-06 projected: 3,871

Halifax Regional School Board

1996-97: 58,219
1997-98: 58,348
1998-99: 58,297
1999-2000: 58,175
2000-01: 57,741
2001-02: 57,481*
2002-03 projected: 57,175
2005-06 projected: 55,052

Southwest Regional School Board**

1996-97: 19,418
1997-98: 19,105
1998-99: 18,797
1999-2000: 18,598

• * The Southwest Regional School Board was divided into two district school boards in 2000 -- the South Shore District School Board and the Tri-County District School Board.

South Shore District School Board

2000-01: 9,495
2001-02: 9,315*
2002-03 projected: 9,164
2005-06 projected: 8,393

Tri-County District School Board

2000-01: 8,823
2001-02: 8,753*
2002-03 projected: 8,579
2005-06 projected: 8,095

Strait Regional School Board

1996-97: 11,476
1997-98: 11,156
1998-99: 10,758
1999-2000: 10,427
2000-01: 10,228
2001-02: 9,958*
2002-03 projected: 9,635
2005-06 projected: 8,652

• numbers represent unaudited provincial enrolment as of September 2001