Twelve thousand children will start first grade in Kirov schools.

      In the new school year, 412 schools will operate in the Kirov region, which will enroll more than 144,000 children, of whom 12,000 are first-graders. Four new schools with a total capacity of 5,306 places will begin operating, and another school with 1,000 places is planned to open by the end of the current year, the regional government reported.

      The regional government also noted that social support measures in the form of free meals, including for children from families of participants in the special operation, will continue in the new school year. From the start of the new school year, around 73,000 schoolchildren will receive free meals at school.