site.btaMore than 35,000 Students to Attend Some 400 Bulgarian Sunday Schools Abroad

Sofia, July 26 (BTA) - More than 35,000 students will attend some 400 Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad in the next school year, Education and Science Minister Krassimir Vulchev said at the annual conference of the Association of Bulgarian Schools Abroad.

The event entitled "The Bulgarian Language: A Spiritual Bridge for National Unity" was held at the National Assembly.

Vulchev recalled that ten years ago there were about 50 Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad with slightly more than 3,000 students. Education abroad improved considerably when a Council of Ministers' decree institutionalized state support and ensured the schools' steady funding. The Pre-School and School Education Act further institutionalized the Sunday schools, so that they were regulated as part of the Bulgarian education system.

Another Council of Ministers' decree made it possible to post teachers, said Vulchev. Many schools now have only one or two teachers and in some places there may be no teachers at all in the future. Distance education in its two forms makes it possible to involve more people. There is also extra financing for special interest activities.