site.btaEducation Minister Denkov: Ministry Is Calculating Funds for Ukrainian Children’s Education

The Ministry team is calculating how much funds the education of refugee Ukrainian children will require, Education and Science Minister Nikolay Denkov said on Bulgarian National Television Sunday. The sum set aside in the budget will not change on principle, but that nevertheless depends on how the war will develop and whether the number of children will increase tangibly. If it remains at more or less the same level as it is now, then no changes will be necessary.

The Ministry reacted quite quickly with ready declarations, enabling children from Ukraine to enroll in Bulgaria’s education system promptly. The main challenge was the immunization calendar of the children from Ukraine which differs from the Bulgarian one. They had agreed with the Health Ministry that the children would enter school only after the two are aligned and the children have been administered the required vaccines.

To date, some 100 Ukrainian children have already been enrolled in school and 365 applications had been submitted by Friday, Denkov said, adding that the Ministry is ready to handle thousands.

The Education Minister also mentioned that there would be changes in the matriculation exams this year, to be focused on thinking rather than just reproducing knowledge.

Work related to changes in attestation of higher educational establishments and teaching staff is well under way and things will look different from the new academic year. Higher education should and must be streamlined, Denkov underscored.

“Compared to last year, this year’s budget for education and science has been increased by some 550 million leva. Twenty-one programmes were launched last week, including the 90 million leva programme for art and sports, and as of April the funds will head for the schools,” Denkov said.