site.btaUPDATED Acquisition of Bulgarian School Platform by UK Company Triggers Personal Data Leak Concerns

An announcement that the Bulgarian school platform Shkolo.bg has been acquired by the UK company Juniper Education triggered concerns about possible personal data leak among parents on social media. The Education and Science Ministry said in a statement that it had no prior knowledge of the change of ownership and that it has asked the State Agency for National Security and the Commission for Personal Data Protection to look into the matter.

Shkolo.bg was set up in 2016 and became popular when the Education Ministry ordered schools to replace the conventional paper grading and assessment registers by online records from the 2022/2023 school year. The platform has segments for teachers, pupils and parents. Its functionalities include assessment, attendance, behaviour, reporting, school calendar, extracurricular activities, lessons and teaching materials.

Shkolo.bg is used by 1,800 schools in Bulgaria and has 2 million users, including educators, pupils and parents.
  
The Education Ministry said that while many Bulgarians schools use Shkolo, it does not have contractual relations with the company. It also said that the acquisition of the platform by a UK company proved that it was a good idea for schools to use a similar State-owned product called NEISPOU (a Bulgarian acronym for "National Electronic Information System for Pre-School and School Education"). NEISPOU is being used by Bulgarian schools. 

Shkolo announced its acquisition by Juniper Education on January 15, 2024. The platform said that its clients in Bulgaria will continue to receive the same level of support and innovation, with Juniper planning to introduce the platform and how it will be adapted to the UK market as an integrated solution with market-leading technology for schools to its customer base.

Juniper offers solutions for classrooms, the back office, staff development and parents, and is trusted by over 14,000 schools.

Later on Wednesday, Shkolo Managing Director Lyubomir Vanyov told Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) that the platform did not inform the Education Ministry of the acquisition because there is no such regulatory requirement to obtain approval.

Regarding a letter that the Ministry sent Shkolo, demanding the immediate provision of all available information about the sale, Vanyov said that "absolutely everything that has to be sent was sent within the space of half an hour. We are available to help and assist absolutely all State bodies which we consider should get any information whatsoever."

Shkolo assured its users that it will continue to provide the same high-quality service without any change. "No personal data will be exported to Britain," Vanyov commented on BNR.