The funds for education in the 2025 budget of Varna Municipality have been increased by 2%, said Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev during a local conference as part of BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project. The conference took place at the BTA National Press Club here on Monday.
Kotsev specified that the funds for education in the Municipality's budget for 2025 are 46% or over BGN 283 million, adding that a large part of these funds have been delegated by the state. He pointed out that education is a focus for the Municipality both in 2024 and in 2025 and that the Municipality has set high goals in the field of education. He noted that the main challenges are related to improving the quality of education and the material base and specified that an enormous amount of work is being done on this.
He emphasised that one of the challenges in Varna is related to the material base and recalled that the project for a new building for the Mathematics High School in the city is underway. Other large-scale projects will be implemented in 2025 and in 2026, including additional extensions and renovation of school facilities and buildings. Kotsev stressed that roof repairs and plumbing installations have been made to many kindergartens and schools, with reconstruction of several schools to follow as well. The projects will be implemented with funds under the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the programme of the Education Ministry.
The STEM centres that will be built in schools are also an emphasis, Kotsev pointed out, adding that after the implementation of the projects in education in Varna, almost all schools will be able to switch to single-shift training. He noted that Varna is an academic city and must continue to develop in this direction, adding that the geographical features of the city should not be ignored. "We must attract investments that will provide more jobs," he stated, adding that the Municipality is working on creating an industrial zone with universities, so that Varna can develop not only as a tourist, but also as an industrial and logistics centre in Bulgaria.
BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project aims to raise public awareness and foster open dialogue about cohesion policy, local achievements, and the implementation of the EU's policy priorities. The project kicked off with a conference in Veliki Preslav in November 2024. The schedule of conferences until the end of September 2025 includes events in the following cities: Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kazanlak, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Razgrad, Ruse, Samokov, Svishtov, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Stara Zagora, Troyan, Targovishte, Haskovo, Shumen, and Yambol. Cross-border conferences will be held in Belgrade, Bosilegrad, Bucharest, Edirne, Skopje, and Thessaloniki. The project builds on the Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future and Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future projects, implemented by BTA in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
/MT/
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