site.btaOver 500 Freshmen from Bulgarian Community in Ukraine Accepted in Bulgarian Universities

A total of 520 students from the Bulgarian community in Ukraine have been admitted as freshmen across Bulgarian universities this academic year, while another 34  have enrolled to study for a Master's degree programmes and eight have been accepted in PhD programmes, it transpired from a meeting here between caretaker Education and Science Minister Galin Tsokov and the Ambassador of Ukraine in Bulgaria, Olesya Ilashchuk, said the Education Ministry on Wednesday.

Ambassador Ilashchuk thanked for the opportunity given to young Ukrainian citizens to study at Bulgarian universities in the same way as Bulgarian students. At the moment there are 400 openings for admission of Ukrainian students with temporary protection status, who have graduated from high school in Bulgaria and want to continue their higher education in this country.

The Minister said that this week the Government provided funding for transport to school for Ukrainian children in the country who live in more remote areas. For their better integration, pre-school Bulgarian language courses are being held at the Personal Development Support Centres in the respective cities, as well as adaptive lessons to familiarize them with the Bulgarian educational environment.

Ukraine's Odesa region is home to the third largest community of expatriate Bulgarians, numbering more than 150,000 people, according to the official 2001 census in Ukraine. Between 50,000 and 60,000 Bulgarians live in the regional capital, Odesa. Bulgarians in the region are concentrated in the districts of Bolhrad, Izmail, and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi.