Bulgaria Private Schools, Nurseries to Receive State Subsidies

According to Bulgaria's Education Minister Sergey Ignatov, privately-run school institutions are no longer a privilege for only the children of the very rich in Bulgaria. Photo by BGNES

Bulgarian private schools and nurseries will be granted state subsidies, equal to those of their state-run counterparts under the new draft High School Education Act

“About BGN 12 M from the state budget will be distributed to these institutions. The children in the privately run schools and kinder gardens have the same rights as other Bulgarian children. We no longer live in a country where only the kids of the very rich attend privately-run educational institutions. In fact Bulgaria's rich kids no longer study in Bulgaria,” explained Tuesday Bulgaria's Education Minister Sergey Ignatov at a work meeting with parent organizations.

“The state now pays an annual allowance of BGN 1300 per student. There are 145 private schools in the country that educate a total of 7500 students,” said Tuesday Milka Slavcheva, the chair of the Bulgarian association of private schools.

According to Slavcheva the fees in the Bulgarian privately-run schools and kinder gardens will become lower if these institutions receive a state subsidy.

Right now the lowest annual fee in a Bulgarian private high-school amounts from EUR 1900 to 2400.

According to Minister Ignatov, if adopted, the new High School Education Act will alter things in Bulgaria’s education that have not been changed in 50 years.

Under the new law, a middle school diploma would be acquired after 7th grade, not after 8th grade as it is at present; in addition, the high-school education will be divided in two levels – 8th-10th grade and 11th-12th grade. The latter will be for students seeking to apply to universities, whereas the former – for those focusing on vocational training.

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