site.btaSchool Begins for Some 64,000 First Graders, School Education Act Needed

School Begins for Some 64,000 First Graders, School Education Act Needed


Sofia, September 15 (BTA) - School in Bulgaria begins on
September 15, including for for some 64,000 first graders, 
about 10,000 of whom live in Sofia. Deputy Education and Science
 Minister Vanya Kastreva said first-grade pupils in 2014 are 300
 more than last year but the exact number will be known at the
end of September.

Data of the Regional Inspectorates of Education show that 63,966
 children had been enrolled in first grade by August 21 and will
 form 3,250 classes. 

Sofia City is in the lead with 9,989 children enrolled in first
grade, followed by Plovdiv Region (South Central Bulgaria) with
6,363 and Bourgas Region (on the Black Sea) with 4,552. Vidin
(Northwestern Bulgaria) trails the table with 752 first graders
this year.

Sofia's 119th school has the largest number of first graders at
192.

Repairs are under way in more than 50 schools around the country
 but this will not disrupt classes.

On the first school day Culture Minister Martin Ivanov opened
Book Lane in central Sofia, featuring stalls of more than 30
Bulgarian publishers. The event organized by the Bulgarian Book
Association and the municipal authority will be on until
September 20. Some of its highlights are book readings, readers'
 club and meetings with Bulgarian writers.


School Education Act Needed

The school year began without a new School Education Act. The
Public Education Act adopted in October 1991 has been amended
many times.

Asen Alexandrov, principal of Sofia's 51st school and advisor to
 one of the education ministers in recent years, told BTA that a
 new law is needed as the first step to drawing up new curricula
 and then new textbooks. He is strongly concerned that the
informatics curriculum is downright outdated. It dates from 2001
 and does not include IT concepts such as "social networks" and
"tablet".

Alexandrov identifies as a weakness the fact that strategies and
 plans are written with no financial provisions for their
implementation. School discipline and the attitude of parents
and students also leave much to be desired. The school principal
 said the use of mobile phones in the classroom is no small
problem because it distracts students and affects their
performance. SN/DD     


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