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Claudia LaGarde
GCU114
Status of Education
November 8, 2016
Status of Education: Bulgaria
Priority 1: Put Every Child in School
As a country, we acknowledge that the top priority of the UNs Global Education
Initiative is to Put Every Child in School. We are struggling to offer and make accessible
education to all individuals living within our country. Within the country of Bulgaria, free basic
primary and pre-secondary education is offered to all eligible school age children free of
charge. The poverty level in certain areas of Bulgaria is extremely high and prevents children
from having the ability to attend school. Their families may not be able to afford the clothes or
materials for them to attend, need the children to stay at home to take care of other children or to
work, or may not be able to provide the nutrition or healthcare needed in order to keep the
children healthy.
Primary school in Bulgaria consists of preschool/kindergarten, elementary, and pregymnasium school. Children attend preschool/kindergarten for 3 to 4 years, elementary school
for 4 years, and pre-gymnasium school for 3 to 4 years. Primary school can take a student
between 10 and 12 years to complete and not all children are able to access this education or
complete this education.

In Bulgaria, there are nearly one million people living within the country that identify
themselves as Roma. Individuals identifying themselves as Roma are not granted the privilege of

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attending school; only 47% of Roma children are enrolled in primary school and fewer actually
complete primary school. The students in the Roma communities typically attend low quality
schools in poorer areas that provide them with a low quality education.
Priority 2: Improve the Quality of Learning
The country is currently working on providing standardized testing using the benchmarks
created by the European Union to hold students and teachers accountable for learning and
education. By the standards of the European Union, Bulgaria is underperforming. This
underperformance has motivated the government to step in and reform the school system,
increasing salaries, creating delegated budgets, providing transportation and free meals to
students, and creating easier access to education.

Quoted directly from the UN Global Education Initiative, School attendance should
open pathways of learning and discovery. In 2006, less than half of students in Bulgaria were
able to reach the critical threshold of reading literacy and math competency set by Organization
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCED). Since Bulgarias education reforms in
2007, the country has created a strong focus on the quality and relevance of education. The
country is calling parents and municipalities to have a deeper involvement in school decisions in
order to increase educational results. Throughout the years since these reforms were first
introduced, over 500 schools have been closed and consolidated through the School Network
Optimization. The budget allocated to education was then utilized to better the schools that were
open instead of being wasted on keeping schools open that were not performing or filled with
students. The ratio of students to teachers has increased but is still lower than the average put out
by the OCED. In addition to the in classroom ratios of students to teachers, 90% of teachers in
Bulgaria are reported to hold a Bachelors or Masters degree.

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Priority 3: Foster Global Citizenship

Bulgaria provides their students the opportunity to attend language schools once they
enter the secondary school level. By learning the language and culture of another country, these
students are offered the opportunity to claim and explore their global citizenship. Professional
language schools are offered for students in languages such as English, French, Russian,
Bulgarian, German, Italian, and Spanish. These students are required not only to learn the
language of the secondary professional language school they attend but another language as well.

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Works Cited

Bulgarian education system became more efficient, further focus on quality is needed. (2010,
September 13). Retrieved November 08, 2016, from
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2010/09/13/bulgarian-educationsystem-more-efficient-further-focus-quality-needed
Education in Bulgaria. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2016, from
https://www.unicef.org/ceecis/Bulgaria.pdf
Priorities. (n.d.). Retrieved November 09, 2016, from
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/gefi/priorities/