site.btaBulgarian Teachers' Trade Union Head Takeva: Education System Short of 4,000 Teachers

111 POLITICS - EDUCATION - TEACHERS - SHORTAGE

Bulgarian Teachers'
Trade Union Head Takeva:
Education System Short of 4,000 Teachers


Varna, on the Black Sea, August 31 (BTA) - There is a shortage of around 4,000 teachers in the education system, head of the Trade Union of Bulgarian Teachers (TUBT), Yanka Takeva, told BTA on Friday. She is participating in a Trade Union seminar near the coastal city of Varna.

Each year, the trade union collects information about the number of teacher vacancies, which numbered 1,873 until a week ago across the country, Takeva said. Around 2,500-3,000 teachers are expected to retire starting September 1, of which Takeva believes around 500-600 will continue to work, leaving the education system short of around 4,000 teachers, which is a big problem.

Securing enough teachers in the education system and overcoming the profession's feminization must become a top priority for the Education Ministry, according to Takeva. In just seven years, Bulgaria will be short of around 6,000 teachers, but this number will swell to 39,000 in another eight years or so. Not enough teachers are graduating from university to replace those leaving the education system, she said, which calls for developing a political programme which can help secure sufficient number of teachers in the secondary education system.

According to her, the shortage is especially severe in the fields of natural sciences, mathematics, physics and informatics. There are only 449 physics teachers across Bulgaria, half of which are expected to retire in three years, Takeva said. RY/MY


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