Dozens of rural secondary schools may disappear because their feeder populations are shrinking, forcing children to travel much long distances, the secondary school council VO-raad warned on Monday.

In addition, classes are becoming too small in many regions to offer schooling for different abilities. In some areas, for example, teenagers can no longer attend a technical trade school, the council said.

Some 15 schools are the last in their region and dozens are finding it hard to make ends meet because of changes in the way school budgets are calculated.

‘It would be wrong if pupils can only be assured of good education if they live a reasonable distance from a city,’ council chief Paul Rosenmoller said in the AD.

Falling birthrates mean the number of secondary school pupils is set to fall by 12% over the next nine years and education minister Arie Slob has already set up a commission charged with finding a solution.