2015 school year opens in Bulgaria
The 2015/16 school year opened in Bulgaria on September 15, with more than 750 000 pupils heading to schools across the country, including 64 841 first-graders.
The number of first-graders is about 2000 fewer than in September 2014.
Predictably, capital city Sofia has the most first-graders, more than 11 000, while the lowest number is in the impoverished Vidin region, a mere 678.
The new school year sees 2564 schools in Bulgaria, five having closed since last year because of a lack of pupils.
The most sought-after teachers in the country were those qualified to give lessons in IT and in foreign languages, according to the Education Ministry. Countrywide, there is a shortage of 1000 teachers in kindergartens and schools. Only 10 per cent of those who qualify as educators actually become teachers.
Speaking to public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television on September 15, Education Minister Todor Tanev said that the ministry was doing everything possible to make the teaching profession more attractive.
He said that teachers’s salaries would be increased by the end of the year and there would be a further increase next year.
Amendments to the law allow teachers to choose different formats to make their classes more interesting. There will be a focus on interactivity and working towards a “tablet for every child”, according to Tanev.
(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)
