Bulgarian Education Minister: There Is No Money for Science

Education Minister, Sergey Ignatov, promises to look for some creative ways to find money for the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Photo by BGNES

The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) would not receive more than the already slated BGN 60 M in budget 2011, Education Minister, Sergey Ignatov, stated.

Ignatov met Wednesday with BAS representatives after their protest rally in Sofia where demonstrators insisted on almost doubling their subsidy to BGN 110 M.

The Chief Scientific Secretary of the Academy, Plamen Hadzhitodorov, declared Bulgarian scientists and researchers would not survive if they do not get at least another BGN 25 M.

Ignatov admitted those working at BAS have the lowest wages in the entire sector; promised to check what is going on with the delayed payments from the "Scientific Research" Fund, but added these funds would not solve the problems anyway.

"Your state now is the result of 20 years of nonchalance," the Minister told the meeting participants.

New talks are scheduled for a week from now, and Hadzhitodorov warned of looming "serious actions" if they do not yield any positive outcome.

Ignatov promised to look for some creative ways to find money such as the Fund for "Modernizing Higher Education," to be established in January 20110, but pointed out the resources in it would be only BGN 11 M.

"BAS is important for us. If you live with the feeling the cabinet is neglecting you, you are wrong," the Minister pointed out.

Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, vowed an additional BGN 300 000 for the so-called Arts Academies so that the college students and staff can go through the winter without forced breaks over lack of heating.

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