A few years ago, the primary school in the village of Kapshticë, Devoll had about 60 students from the village, which is located just a few kilometers from the city of Bilisht.

The biggest wound is the emigration to the neighboring country, Greece, which has resulted in depopulation.

In this way, the number of students in the school has decreased, arriving in 2023, where there is only one class with 4 students. And as if this was not enough, 2 of them did not show up.

“I am 8 years-old, my name is Leandra. I am in the third grade, there are 4 children here at school. I wish there were more. My favorite subject is language,” said one of the girls who attends this school.

“My name is Avziu, I am 10 years old, in the fifth grade. I like school. We are 4 children here, but I would like to be more,” said a boy, the second student who attends.

Setali Mane, a former teacher, says that 15 years ago the Kapshticë school had 4 classes with 15 students each.

He also shows the factors that have influenced the decrease in the number of students in this school.

“We were 4 classes of 15 students 15 years ago. After that, immigration started, people moved and ran away and the number of students dropped. Number of births is few and 5-6 years ago reached the number 7-8-10 children and kindergarten children. The village has passed over 50% that houses are closed,” said Mane.

Even the few remaining residents raise the concern of depopulation of the village.

In the district of Korça, 3 schools have been closed for this new school year, all three in mountainous areas where the number of residents has decreased due to emigration and therefore the number of students is less.