site.btaTrade Union Demands Gradual Increase of Education Funding from 3.5 to 6% of GDP

Trade Union Demands Gradual Increase of Education Funding from 3.5 to 6% of GDP

Sofia, April 7 (BTA) - The underfinancing of the educational system and the mere 3.5 per cent of GDP set aside for it mean that it is impossible to implement the new educational policies set down in the Pre-school and School Education Act. This restricts access to quality education for all Bulgarian school students, the Education chapter of Podkrepa Confederation of Labour said in an opinion made public Friday.

The trade union suggests a strategy for increasing funds for education by no least than 0.5 per cent a year to reach at least 6 per cent of GDP.

After the major teacher strike in 2007, funding of educational institutions is linked only to the number of students through a fixed expenditure standard. This means they are in an underprivileged position and leads to bad student results. The philosophy of delegated budgets creates a corrupt dependence of student expenditure and teacher salaries. It also generates a deficit in the upbringing of students. Delegated budgets should be scrapped and replaced by funding accounting for the geographical location of schools, their constant operational costs that do not depend on the number of students, as well as the national objectives for the equal development of Bulgarian regions. A law should ban the closure of Bulgarian schools and stipulate the financial support of modern educational establishments offering equal chances for every Bulgarian student.

Teachers in Bulgaria are "qualified working poor", the trade union said, and are traditionally the poorest in Europe. This is far from a motivation to work at school. The trade union insists that teacher salaries should not be lower than the average gross salary of employees in the public sector and that school principals should have a term of office.