site.btaDiscussion on Problems in Education in Bulgarian as Mother Tongue Held in Bosilegrad

Bosilegrad, Eastern Serbia, November 3 (BTA) - The problems in education faced by Bulgarians living in Eastern Serbia in their attempts to restore the process of teaching in Bulgarian as a mother tongue, were discussed in Bosilegrad on Thursday. The roundtable entitled "Analysis of Education of Bulgarians in Serbia: Problems and Opportunities" was organized by the GLAS ['voice'] Association, whose chairperson Alexander Dimitrov represents BTA in the area of Bosilegrad.

The discussion was part of a series of similar events already held in Dimitrovgrad and Nis, the results of which will be summarized in an analysis.

At present, 36 children are studying Bulgarian in the primary school in Bosilegrad from first to eight grade, or 7.8 per cent of the 460 pupils there. Nine children were enrolled in first grade this year, it transpired at the discussion. At the same time, 90 per cent of pupils who have studied Bulgarian in Serbia later study in Bulgarian higher education establishments. In the 2016/2017 academic year, 326 persons with Serbian secondary education graduated from Bulgarian universities.

At the roundtable, pedagogues noted that Bulgaria should create other, better conditions for the enrollment of students in Bulgarian universities in order to promote interest in the Bulgarian language among the Bulgarian minority in Serbia. Facts indicate that this interest has been dropping in the last years.

It was noted that the laws allowing education in a mother tongue in Serbia are good but are not observed, and that in the course of 25 years Bulgaria has been looking at what is happening with the Bulgarian minority in Serbia without undertaking measures to improve the situation. "They hug each other at high level and claim that the bilateral relations have never been better, while we are living worse than ever," said Radko Stoyanchov of the Cultural Information Centre of Bulgarians.

Participating in the forum were representatives of the Croatian National Council, teachers and authors of textbooks in Bulgarian, representatives of the education circles in Dimitrovgrad, and the Secretary of the Bulgarian Embassy in Belgrade, Yulian Kipitov.