Ο Αριθμός των Μαθητών των Σχολικών Μονάδων επιδρά στο Ετήσιο Δημόσιο Κόστος ανά Μαθητή; Εμπειρική Απόδειξη από τα Δημόσια Λύκεια της ΠΕ Φθιώτιδας, της Περιφέρειας Στερεάς Ελλάδας

Abstract

In the field of applied educational and financial politics finding the optimal school size (number of students) in educational units is a major issue. Τhe public cost per student has been minimised and until today this issue has not been studied. The aim of the present paper is to study how the size of public high schools in the region of Fthiotida affects the annual, public cost per student. For this purpose, panel data from all the 26 high schools of the region (year 2014) have been gathered and used. An analysis utilising methodologies of descriptive statistics and econometrics has also been conducted. The findings of the empirical analysis have revealed a negative association between the two variables. A quadratic function has been estimated where the dependent variable depicts the annual, public cost per student (average annual public cost), whereas the independent variable represents the size of the school unit (number of students). According to mathematics and more specifically in economic theory, this is represented as a parabola that opens up. The limits of this single-variable equation have been studied. The optimal size of high schools is greater than the current school size. In the case of a new architectural design, according to which high schools would approximately have this size, the annual public cost per student would be significantly lower and as a result the total public cost of the high school system in Fthiotida would be equally lower, too. It is suggested, that the reduction of the annual public cost should be mandatorily invested in educational actions and life-long learning programmes offered by the central government.