site.btaBudget for Bulgarian Communities Abroad Goes Through in Competent Parliamentary Committee

The Committee on Policies for Bulgarians Abroad Tuesday passed on first reading the budget for the Bulgarian communities abroad. According to the financial framework submitted by the Government on July 5, the bill provides for some BGN 1,000,000 more for policies related to Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad, Deputy Education Minister Marieta Georgieva told the MPs in the relevant committee. 

A total of BGN 13.6 million have been set aside for Bulgarian schools abroad in 2023, she added.

In addition, the draft budget is planned to continue with the funding of two national programmes, one of which, "The Untold Stories of the Bulgarians", is new. Since last year, a new Government decree on the amount of travel expenses significantly alleviates and solves to some extent the problems related to the costs of lecturers who are seconded both in higher education institutions and for teachers who work in secondary schools abroad, resulting in a significant improvement on the matter, Georgieva said.

Funding of the Taraclia State University in Moldova will also continue, as well as the qualification and language courses during the summer for pedagogical specialists who teach in Bulgarian Sunday schools, the Deputy Minister said. 

Allocated funding policies cover both secondary and higher education, providing for expenditure that supports the training, education of Bulgarian communities in Bulgarian higher education institutions. Funding is also provided for teaching aids, literature that is published for the needs of the schools of the Bulgarian communities. So, the opinion of the Ministry of Education is that, taking into account the budget situation, it will manage to implement successfully what has already been launched, Georgieva said.