Chapter 6: Education (1)

The educational system in Bulgaria, as in the Balkans generally, began to develop in a real sense only in the nineteenth century, principally because Bulgaria had been under Turkish rule for 500 years. As education was of little concern to the Turks and an educated Bulgarian population would only represent a threat to their regime, the advancement of a formal educational system was either openly repressed or neglected by the Turks. As a result, the literacy rate in Bulgaria was one of the lowest in Europe at the time of liberation in 1878. During the six decades between liberation and World War II, the educational system had made great progress in providing basic education to young people, but there remained a hard core of illiterates in the adult population. After the Communists took over in 1944, a massive drive in adult education virtually eliminated the problem of illiteracy within a decade.

The educational system under the Communists was essentially patterned on that of the Soviet Union, and the desire on the part of Bulgarian authorities to stay within that pattern brought about a general cautiousness as they restructured the system to make it coincide with the newly imposed ideology. Although educational reforms have been enacted with great frequency, they have often dealt with matters of form rather than of substance. The basic adherence to Soviet guidelines has remained intact throughout the years of communist rule.

As in most Eastern European countries, the major objectives of the Bulgarian educational system have been premised on both ideological issues and the demands of the national economy. One of the primary goals of the system--both stated and implicit--is the production of the ideal communist citizen who will work for the realization of "socialist construction" and the betterment of the socialist society. A second major premise of the system is that the demands of the economy must be met; this goal is to be achieved by educating skilled personnel to fill the specific needs of its various sectors. Because of the trend toward industrialization that obtains in all communist countries, a corollary policy is that the study of science and technology must be emphasized over the study of the humanities.

According to established principles, therefore, certain policies are carried out in the process of education. People of worker or peasant origin, who the Communists perceive as having been deprived of their basic rights to an education in the past, are allowed to enter the higher levels of the educational system without the usual prerequisite examination if the necessary places are available. They generally represent between 30 and 40 percent of the total higher education population as compared with 80 percent of the population as a whole.

Certain communist principles form the backbone of the curriculum. Work is perceived to be an integral part of education as are directed extracurricular activities, and a sizable percentage of formal education is allotted for practical and vocational training. Religious education, which was a legacy from the past, has been dismissed as superstitious and archaic, and virtually all religious schools have been banned. The curriculum from the earliest years of schooling to the upper levels of higher education is filled with such courses as Marxism-Leninism, the history of the communist party of the Soviet Union, and the history of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see Glossary).

Under the many and varied educational reforms legislated under the Communists, the pendulum has swung between relative emphasis on science and technology on the one hand and the humanities on the other. Although overall emphasis has always been on the sciences, that emphasis has increased and decreased at various times since the communist takeover. Between 1944 and 1948, for example, there was little overall emphasis on technology in the curriculum. Between 1948 and 1967, however, these subjects were emphasized to a large degree. Beginning in 1967 some weight was again placed on the humanities. As of 1973 there had been some manifestation of rededication to technology and science, but the latest proposed reform regarding secondary education represented a desire on the part of the government to fuse general education--which of course includes the humanities--and specialized training into one system.

In mid-1973 problems inherent in the educational system of Bulgaria continued to exist. One of the most serious was the inadequacy of funds for education generally but particularly for higher education where the need was the greatest. Another problem was that of overcrowding. Although there was virtually no problem of teacher shortage, there were far too many students in proportion to the number of schools. A third problem lay in the area of foreign student exchange where relatively few foreign students studied in Bulgarian universities and institutes and few Bulgarian students were allowed to study abroad. Another problem on the higher educational level was the discrepancy between students' preference regarding their fields of specialization and government dictates in this area. Although many students at the university level were interested in the arts and social sciences, the government, feeling the weight of the economy's demands, very often preempted their choices and allocated many more places to the sciences than to the arts. The most serious problem, however, in terms of higher education, was that owing to a shortage of places at the university level only 20 percent of the secondary students who applied for admission were accepted. This shortage of places in higher education, coupled with the fact that extremely few Bulgarian students were permitted to study abroad, meant that a large proportion of potential students capable of serious work were turned away from higher education altogether.

HISTORY OF EDUCATION

Until the late eighteenth century education made virtually no progress in the country. Although schools did exist during the period of Turkish rule, the Turks had no interest in furthering education among their subjects, except insofar as it would benefit themselves. From the fourteenth through the seventeenth centuries education remained at a standstill. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Turks allowed the Greek Orthodox Church to become predominant among Christians in the area, and an intense hellenization campaign ensued with the seeming purpose of assimilating the Bulgarians as a people into the Greek society that surrounded them. The campaign, which was particularly virulent in the 1750s, was successful in the schools, and the Bulgarian language and customs were supplanted by those of the Greek.

By the late eighteenth century, however, a national revival grew in force, stimulated in large part by Father Paisi, a monk who wrote the first Bulgarian history, _The Slav-Bulgarian History_. This work and Father Paisi's teachings provided an incentive for the development of education in the country. From 1762 until liberation from Turkish rule in 1878, education made great strides. As the churches began to throw off the domination of the Greek Orthodox Church, more church schools staffed by monks and priests were established within the Bulgarian Orthodox Church framework.

Although the Greek educational system still predominated in the early part of the nineteenth century, complemented by a rising move toward the establishment of Bulgarian Orthodox Church schools, a movement toward secular education was initiated at this time. Secular subjects were introduced in the church schools, and communal schools were established. By 1834 the first primer in Bulgarian was written, based on a western European model, which established the basis for secondary education. In 1835 a wealthy merchant founded the first Bulgarian high school, and within the next ten years some fifty schools had been established.

At the time of liberation, however, over 90 percent of the population over school age was still illiterate. Only a small proportion--some 30 percent--of school-age children, those from seven to fourteen years of age, were actually attending schools. After the Turnovo Constitution (1879), however, which was enacted shortly after liberation, the educational system was revitalized (see ch. 8). Elementary education was made both free and compulsory. The state, the monarchy, and private individuals contributed to the goal of making education as nearly universal as possible.

In 1879 the three-year compulsory elementary school was introduced. By 1880 the period of compulsory education had been extended to four years. In 1888 the University of Sofia was founded. The university initially had seven faculties: history and philosophy; physics and mathematics; law; medicine; agronomy; theology; and veterinary medicine.

In 1910 the school system, which covered a twelve-year period, consisted of a four-year elementary school for children aged seven to eleven, a three-year _progymnasium_ for children from eleven to fourteen, and a five-year gymnasium for children from fourteen to eighteen. This system continued with only slight modification until the Communists took over in 1944. Also by 1910 both professional and vocational schools had been established providing a relatively high quality of education in such fields as agriculture, engineering, theology, commerce, art, and music. Although there were many students of higher education at the University of Sofia, about 10,000 students annually attended foreign universities, principally in Austria and Germany.

By the end of World War I, many villages that had more than twenty families had their own primary school. Larger settlements in more urban areas often had their own _progymnasia_ and gymnasiums. In towns that had 20,000 or more citizens, there were kindergartens for children from three to seven years of age. Both religious and linguistic minorities had their own schools, which functioned within the public school system. Foreign schools coexisted with the public school system. Although the curricula of the foreign schools were similar to those of the public secondary schools, subjects were taught in western European languages, forming a link between Bulgaria and the West.

By 1921 a three-tiered system of education--consisting of the four-year elementary school, the three-year _progymnasium_, and the five-year gymnasium--became officially compulsory in the first two stages. Many children failed to attend school, however, and many villages, despite the official policy, were without school facilities. The entire educational system was controlled by the government through the Ministry of Public Education, which regulated the contents of texts and courses and the administration of exams. The model for the educational system was essentially European, with a particularly strong emphasis on German and Russian patterns.

In 1921 the Law of Public Instruction brought an increase in emphasis on vocational training. Orders were issued to bring about a transition to "vocational education and respect for labor." Eventually, schoolchildren were forced to spend two weeks of their studies in "compulsory labor," a concept that was the precursor of the Bulgarian communist philosophy of the integration of work with education. During this period the students worked in such projects as cleaning school facilities, binding texts, and cultivating school gardens.

In 1934 a so-called modern school was established to give the student an alternative to the academically and socially elitist gymnasium, but there were still a number of deficiencies in the Bulgarian educational system. The literacy rate had greatly increased, but between 20 and 30 percent of the population was still illiterate. Although schooling was officially compulsory, it was in fact inaccessible in smaller villages, and many school-age children were not able to attend. Humanities were emphasized to the virtual exclusion of technical-vocational subjects, which were developed to only a very slight degree. Only one of five secondary students studied technical subjects. Adult education was virtually nonexistent.

In 1937 there were eight institutions of higher education in addition to the University of Sofia, the country's leading educational facility. Six of these--the Free University, the Academy of Art, the Academy of Music, the Military Academy, the Theological Seminary, and the School of Physical Education--were also located in Sofia. The remaining two were business schools located in Varna and Svishtov. A large number of Bulgarian students also chose to continue their education abroad. One of the major problems at the time concerned the absorption of graduates into the various fields for which they were eligible. The country was still predominantly agricultural, and there were simply too few positions available for the annual influx of graduates, a situation that caused alienation and disaffection.

COMMUNIST EDUCATIONAL POLICIES

When the Communists came to power in 1944 they were determined to change the system of education in Bulgaria. Not only did they seek to eradicate certain elements--such as religion and social elitism--from the educational system, but they also were determined to make education universal and, insofar as possible, to create an entirely literate society. As the educational system developed under communist tutelage, however, governmental statements on the subject displayed an increasing tendency to link the system with ideology and principles to the point where the ultimate goal was the creation of the ideal Communist.

When the 1947 Constitution was formulated, it established universality and state control over the school system as the two main policies of education. It stated: "Every citizen has the right to education. Education is secular, democratic and progressive in spirit. Ethnic minorities have the right to instruction in their mother tongue; they also have the right to develop their national culture, although study of the Bulgarian language is compulsory.... Schools belong to the State. Private schools can be established only by the passage of a law; such schools are placed under State control...."

Statements in subsequent constitutions indicated an increased emphasis on the socialist content of education and its close ties with the Soviet model on which it was based. In 1949 the government issued a statement declaring that education would be "in the spirit of socialism, proletarian internationalism, and indissoluble brotherly friendship with the Soviet Union." Two years later the government stated that "the people's school is a powerful weapon in the hands of the Communist Party and the people's democratic state for education and Communist indoctrination of the people." In the present-day period both Todor Zhivkov, who is the first secretary of the party, and the minister of national education (formerly known as the minister of public education) have reinforced the purpose and function of education in a socialist society. In 1966 the minister of national education stated: "The work of the school, its major and minor tasks--everything for which it exists--must be subordinated to its fundamental objective: training and educating the new man of communist society."

Certain distinctive principles form the basis for communist policies of education in Bulgaria. Chief among these is the close patterning of the system on the Soviet model. For this reason Bulgaria tends to be somewhat cautious in its approach to education and reluctant to make sweeping reforms unless the Soviets provide a model for change.

The principle of a universally accessible system of education has top priority, and in fact the near-universal nature of education in Bulgaria has brought about almost complete literacy. Whereas before 1944 many Bulgarians had never attended school, in mid-1973 almost every Bulgarian was able to attend some form of school. In some areas of the educational system, particularly in institutions of higher education, the number of students has increased as much as eightfold.

Another principle of communist education in Bulgaria is the concept of socially useful work, which must be performed by all students at all levels of education. The principle of work in education is initiated at the very lowest levels of the system; it progresses into increasingly longer periods as the student advances in the school system. In the higher grades, students work for significant periods of time in agriculture, industry, and construction. In the higher levels of education the student must sign a document that obligates him to accept a working assignment, which should be related to his field of specialization, for a period of three to five years.

Another facet of the system is the eradication of old values and their replacement with new socialist values (see ch. 4). One of the first tasks of Bulgarian educators was to eliminate religious teachings and practices in the schools. Religion, as a subject, was eliminated in the early years as was the history of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Students are taught that atheism is both reasonable and scientific; religion is dismissed as a relic of a superstitious and undesirable past. By the same token, students are indoctrinated strongly by teachers, directors of extracurricular activities, and colleagues to revere and swear allegiance to the government.

Another guiding principle of the educational system in Bulgaria, which was initiated at the time of the takeover and still obtained to some degree in 1973, is the concept that sons and daughters of the worker and peasant classes should be favored in terms of their preference of access to education, particularly at the higher levels. This policy was clearly motivated by a desire to compensate for the exclusion of this class from such institutions in the past. In the early communist years institutions of higher education charged tuition, but children of the worker-peasant classes were exempted. By 1954 this class constituted 20 percent of the higher education population, a figure that by 1970 had risen to 78 percent. In 1973 the government was still maintaining a preferential clause for these students in higher education and reserved 10 percent of the places in such institutions for them.

Another principle of the educational system is the promotion of technical or vocational education and the simultaneous downgrading of the humanities. Academic studies were quantitatively reduced in order to place greater emphasis on practical work. When a student has completed his formal education in the school system, he will have at the time spent at least one-third of his school hours working on a farm, in a factory, or at some other enterprise. In the curriculum itself technical subjects are given a place of greater importance than the humanities. Although studies have indicated that a great many students seeking admission to institutions of higher education aspire to the study of the humanities, governmental policies have limited the number of places available in these areas in order to train technical-vocational specialists to meet the needs of the economy (see ch. 12).

The last important principle of Bulgarian education is the nationalization and secularization of the school system. When the Communists took power in the 1940s, they quickly closed all foreign and private schools with the exception of schools for the children of Soviet officials and diplomats. Schools of ethnic minorities fell under the aegis of the government and thereby lost all autonomy. Ironically, in 1973 the only private school that existed was related to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. As the church is subservient to and dependent upon the state, however, the existence of such a school undoubtedly represented little threat to the government.

EDUCATIONAL REFORMS

Between the years 1944 and 1948 the Communists set about eradicating the prewar educational system. By 1947, when the constitution (also called the Dimitrov Constitution) was enacted, all prewar textbooks had been replaced by communist texts; all schoolteachers and university professors who were considered reactionary or fascist had been replaced by persons loyal to the Fatherland Front (Otechestven Front) government; and all institutions of higher education had been opened to workers and their children, whereas students thought to have fascist or reactionary tendencies were denied admittance.

The Dimitrov Constitution stipulated further that all schools, including those that had previously been private, would be the property of the state; that all foreign schools would be closed for the academic year 1948-49; and that religious schools would be discontinued. Ironically, the only denominational schools that were allowed to continue were those that trained priests, but these schools had to have special permission from the state in order to continue their operations.

In 1948 and 1949 another series of reforms was initiated, which, although less sweeping than the original reforms, tended to pattern the Bulgarian school system more closely on that of the Soviet Union. In August 1949 a joint resolution of the BKP Central Committee and the Council of Ministers declared that education would be carried out in the spirit of socialism, based both on the teachings of Karl Marx and Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and on Bulgarian friendship with the Soviet Union. The ideological studies introduced into the curriculum consisted of the fundamental principles of Marx and Lenin, the history of the communist party of the Soviet Union, and the history of the BKP. All of these subjects became obligatory from kindergarten.

The second initiative in the 1948-49 reforms was the declaration that all universities and institutions of higher education as well as the Academy of Sciences were no longer autonomous. A third reform during this period was the reduction from five to four years of the gymnasium, which in turn reduced the total schooling from twelve to eleven years. The fourth reform was the redesigning of polytechnic education to greatly increase the number of trained graduates to fill the rapidly escalating demands of the economy.

In statistical terms the results of the various communist reforms were mixed. Although the number of primary and secondary schools increased slightly overall from 1938 to 1948, there was hardly any appreciable growth in primary schools, whereas secondary schools nearly doubled. The number of students, similarly, barely changed in the same ten-year period; the number of primary students actually declined, but the number of secondary students grew appreciably (see table 6; table 7).

Higher education, on the other hand, made great strides after the communist takeover as the number of universities and other institutions of higher education increased by one-third. Despite the emphasis on technical and vocational education, such schools dropped in terms of facilities, students, and teachers during the early communist years. The number of teachers of polytechnic subjects also declined during the period (see table 8).

_Table 6. Number of Schools in Bulgaria, Selected Years, 1938-70_

--------------------------+---------+---------+---------+--------- Level | 1938/39 | 1948/49 | 1960/61 | 1970/71 --------------------------+---------+---------+---------+--------- Kindergarten | 254 | n.a. | 6,570 | 8,037 Primary | 7,291 | 7,872 | * | * Secondary | 133 | 253 | * | * | ------ | ------ | ------- | ------- Total primary-secondary | 7,424 | 8,125 | 5,877 | 4,197 Vocational technical | n.a. | n.a. | 236 | 132 Secondary vocational | n.a. | n.a. | 0 | 190 Technical | n.a. | n.a. | 231 | 246 | ------ | ------ | ------- | ------ Total technical | 384 | 159 | 467 | 568 Teacher training | 5 | n.a. | 18 | 20 Higher education | 12 | 19 | 20 | 26 --------------------------+---------+---------+---------+--------- n.a.--not available. * In 1960 the primary and secondary levels were unified under one system.

_Table 7. Number of Students in Bulgaria, Selected School Years, 1938-70_

--------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------- Level | 1938/39 | 1948/49 | 1960/61 | 1970/71 --------------------------+-----------|-----------+-----------+----------- Kindergarten | 12,859 | n.a. | 281,000 | 331,960 Primary | 955,330 | 928,934 | * | * Secondary | 73,561 | 129,396 | * | * | --------- | --------- | --------- | --------- Total primary-secondary | 1,028,891 | 1,058,330 | 1,212,383 | 1,154,630 Vocational technical | n.a. | n.a. | 42,123 | 47,253 Secondary vocational | n.a. | n.a. | 0 | 83,038 Technical | n.a. | n.a. | 93,944 | 152,919 | --------- | --------- | --------- | --------- Total technical | 46,925 | 31,826 | 136,067 | 283,210 Teacher training | 401 | n.a. | 4,203 | 6,921 Higher education | 11,443 | 29,639 | 54,965 | 89,331 --------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------- n.a.--not available. * In 1960 the primary and secondary levels were unified under one system.

The next reforms occurred in 1957 and in 1958 and placed a much stronger emphasis on technical-vocational training, while the years of total schooling were again increased. The period of secondary schooling consisted of a five-year program rather than the previous four, thus extending the entire period of education to twelve years. The network of professional schools was expanded significantly, and teacher training was upgraded and given new emphasis. In 1958 there were specialized professional schools with approximately 64,000 students studying various aspects of industry and agriculture. At approximately the same time there were twenty-two pedagogical schools with an enrollment of 8,989 students.

_Table 8. Number of Teachers in Bulgaria, Selected School Years, 1938-70_

--------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------- Level | 1938/39 | 1948/49 | 1960/61 | 1970/71 --------------------------+-----------|-----------+-----------+---------- Kindergarten | 286 | n.a. | 11,873 | 18,185 Primary | 24,830 | 34,000 | * | * Secondary | 2,874 | 4,893 | * | * | ------ | ------ | ------ | ------ Total primary-secondary | 27,704 | 38,893 | 51,067 | 54,068 Vocational technical | n.a. | n.a. | 2,835 | 2,734 Secondary vocational | n.a. | n.a. | 0 | 5,720 Technical | n.a. | n.a. | 5,307 | 9,045 | ------ | ------ | ------ | ------ Total technical | 2,487 | 1,109 | 8,142 | 17,499 Teacher training | 50 | n.a. | 251 | 406 Higher education | 588 | 1,169 | 3,883 | 7,125 --------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------- n.a.--not available. * In 1960 the primary and secondary levels were unified under one system.

The concept of practical work as an integral part of the curriculum was again emphasized, and the scope of vocational training grew enormously as vocational and technical schools increased threefold. Although all students had to perform certain tasks as part of their basic education, the 1957-58 reforms dictated that graduates of higher technical and agricultural institutions had to perform one year of practical work before graduation. As the concept of polytechnical education became widespread at the secondary level, practical work consumed up to one-third of the total hours of education. Although experimental vocational training was introduced into the curricula of some gymnasiums in this period, other gymnasiums, particularly in the rural areas, required students to spend several hours weekly in formal vocational studies.

In the same 1957-58 period a number of broad, rather than structural, reforms were initiated. Schools for ethnic minorities were established in which, despite the fact that study of the Bulgarian language was compulsory, teaching was performed in the language of the minority group. All schools of general education became officially coeducational, and evening classes for workers were initiated. At the same time, although there already had been some financial assistance, scholarships were presented on a wide scale. In the 1957-58 academic year 46 percent of all students in institutions of higher education received stipends from the government. Although there were few scholarships given to gymnasium students, with the exception of Turkish students who were considered the least educated group, students in professional schools and technical colleges were the recipients of a large number of governmental stipends.

The reforms of 1959 were of more lasting significance than were the 1957-58 reforms. Unlike the latter reforms, which represented a slight deviation from the Soviet educational model, the 1959 reforms returned the Bulgarian system once more to the original Soviet pattern. In 1958 Nikita Khrushchev wrote a treatise called "Strengthening the Ties Between School and Life" in which he demanded a close integration of the educational system and the economy. Shortly thereafter, Zhivkov declared that the 1957-58 school reforms in his own country were inadequate and asked for a basic reorganization of the entire school system. In July 1959 a basic law, reorganizing the entire school system, was passed.

This law was entitled "Law on Establishing a Closer Link Between Education and Practical Life and on Furthering the Development of Public Education in the People's Republic of Bulgaria." Its stated objectives were: "To prepare youth for life by combining education and instruction with practical and production work" and "to imbue the young people with a love of work and a spirit of patriotism and international solidarity." The law proposed the introduction of polytechnic studies on an unprecedented scale in order to provide skilled workers for agriculture and industry. Although the main objective was to meet the demands of the economy, it was hoped that the new emphasis on technical subjects would break down the exclusiveness of the educated classes, while socializing the younger generation in communist ideological terms.

In practical terms the 1959 reforms introduced a unified twelve-year so-called secondary school--despite the fact that it included the elementary grades as well--called the medium polytechnical school, which totally replaced the existing five-year basic school and the four-year medium school or gymnasium. The medium polytechnical school was divided into an eight-year elementary course and a four-year upper course. After completing the basic school the student was faced with four alternatives. He could enter: the upper course, which provided general education plus specialization in an area of production; a medium professional school or technicum, which provided a specialized education; a professional technical college, which prepared him for production in the economy; or the so-called miscellaneous training, which included courses organized by plants, factories, and cooperatives.

At the same time the new law provided for the improvement of teacher training. All teachers who taught in the fifth level or above were required to have a university education or its equivalent. Teachers who taught in kindergartens or the first to fourth levels were required to take a three-year course after the obligatory twelve-year course of schooling.

The reforms were later criticized, however, on much more far-reaching grounds. Some felt that technical specialization was stressed to such an extreme that the liberal arts were altogether ignored. Some complained that, although students were overburdened with superfluous details of overspecialized subjects, teachers were still basically unprepared to teach these subjects. Others felt that there was a lack of correlation between the work that the student had to perform and his or her area of expertise. Still others realized that there was a basic clash between the managers who supervised the worker-students and the students themselves.

Despite much criticism about the reforms, in terms of bare statistics they were successful in greatly increasing the emphasis on technical-vocational training. Although the number of primary and secondary students remained approximately at the same level and the number of primary and secondary schools declined drastically, there was a tremendous increase in technical-vocational schools, students, and teachers.

In 1967 there was another wave of educational reform in Bulgaria, as well as in all of Eastern Europe, that once again changed the direction of education. Although most Eastern European countries began to deemphasize polytechnic instruction, Bulgaria's course was more cautious and ambivalent. On the one hand, Bulgarian educators stated that the time allotted for practical training would be increased, while on the other hand, efforts were made to reintroduce the humanities into the curriculum. In the last three grades of the upper course, the curriculum was divided into two branches: natural science and mathematics, and the humanities. The number of general education subjects was gradually increased, and there was renewed emphasis on foreign languages and the social sciences.

By 1969, however, authorities once again perceived certain problems in the educational system and proposed counteracting reforms. One problem was the relative cost of higher education, which was expanding, as compared to the cost of primary education, which was both cheaper and contracting. A second problem was the question of the availability of trained persons for the national economy because of the long periods of schooling then required. It was argued that by the time a young man had completed his education and his military training, he was twenty-five or twenty-six years old. A third problem was the intense competition for places in higher education and other postsecondary institutions. In 1969 approximately 70,000 to 75,000 students leaving secondary schools competed with each other for 20,000 places at the university level. A fourth problem was whether the polytechnic school should place primary emphasis on trade specialization or on academic subjects.

In the same year serious thought was given to the solution of these problems, and tentative measures were proposed. The major thrust of these proposals was to enable students to meet the needs of the economy by shortening the period of overall education. It was proposed that a unified polytechnic school, which would fuse general and professional elements of education, would replace the current, professionally oriented polytechnic school. At the same time children would enter school at the age of six, instead of the customary seven. The secondary polytechnic school would be a ten-year instead of a twelve-year course, allowing students to graduate at the age of sixteen. Most courses in higher education would be reduced from five to four years, enabling students to complete all levels of education by the age of twenty rather than twenty-five.

The reforms would perhaps have a greater impact on the secondary system than the other levels, as they envisioned a completely unified secondary school system in which professional and general education would be fused. Specialization in liberal arts, mathematics and economics, chemistry and biology, social sciences, and foreign languages would be offered.

In 1972 these reforms were officially proposed and passed by the Council of Ministers. It was anticipated that they would be carried out over the next ten to fifteen years. Although the concept of fusing general and professional education in the new unified secondary polytechnic school was not universally popular, the reform embodying this concept was passed primarily because of the influence of one of its strongest proponents, Zhivkov.

Other reforms proposed in 1972 dealt with the specific levels of the educational system and with monetary necessities to fulfill these expectations. As it was expected that by 1975 approximately 76 percent of children from three to seven years of age would be in kindergartens, the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-75) emphasized the development of a huge network of kindergartens. By 1975, 85 percent of the students attending primary school were expected to go on to the secondary level, and plans were made to increase the construction of boarding and semiboarding schools to accommodate these students. Secondary education was to be made compulsory in order, in Zhivkov's words, "to give every young man and girl the opportunity not only of acquiring scientific knowledge of nature and society and the necessary general culture and polytechnical education, but also of acquiring certain production and technical habits and skills, of preparing themselves for socially useful work."

The main emphasis in the 1972 reforms, however, was on higher education. It was anticipated that there would be some 120,000 students in higher education by 1975. Of this number it was expected that 65,000--or approximately half--would be specialists. Of the 65,000 specialists, half would be engaged in science and technology. Therefore, in 1972 plans were being formulated for the construction of new buildings at many of the major institutions of higher education.

In order to fulfill these structural changes, it was decided that both increased expenditures and additional places for students were needed. During the Fifth Five-Year Plan (1966-70), about 300 million leva (for value of the lev--see Glossary) had been expended on education. In the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-75) 500 million leva were to be allocated. In addition, 30,000 more places were to be provided at the preschool level, 28,000 more accommodations at hostels, and 4,500 classrooms at all levels.

LITERACY

Figures vary to some degree, but at the time of liberation in 1878 between 85 and 90 percent of the Bulgarian population was illiterate. By the early twentieth century, however, Bulgaria had achieved the highest literacy rate in the Balkans. Although some scholars stated that only some 31 percent of the population over school age was literate, by 1920 nearly 50 percent of the population over school age was literate. By 1934 only 31.6 percent of the population over school age was still illiterate, and by 1940 this figure was reduced to between 20 and 25 percent.

After the Communists took power in the country, literacy increased at a rapid pace. In 1956 only 17.6 percent of the population over twenty-five was illiterate, and by 1965 only 8.6 percent was illiterate. In 1973, although total literacy for people under fifty years of age was claimed by the government, the rate of literacy of this group was probably somewhere between 90 and 100 percent.

Of the illiterate population in 1965, approximately three-fourths were women and only one-fourth were men, reflecting the recency of the emancipation of women in Bulgaria. Of ethnic groups, the Gypsies have both the lowest levels of literacy and of education, whereas the Turks have a significantly higher literacy rate. Jews, Czechs, Greeks, and Russians all have a relatively high literacy level. In 1965 there were three times as many illiterates in rural areas as in urban. Also, illiteracy in Bulgaria was much more common among the older generation than among the young. In 1965, of the population over 60 years of age, approximately one-third was illiterate, whereas only a very small percentage of the working-age group was illiterate. The government seemed relatively unconcerned about the problem of illiteracy among the older people, as an official stated: "The high illiteracy rate among the older population does not present a problem since this is the population above the working age and this group is not crucial to our economic life."

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

Administration and Finance

The 1947 constitution established both the Ministry of Education and the Committee for Science, Art, and Culture, which held ministry status. In 1954 the Law on Public Education increased the authority of the Ministry of Education; all general and vocational schools fell under its jurisdiction at that time. In February 1954 the Ministry of Culture was established. It replaced the Committee for Science, Art, and Culture and oversaw, in broad terms, the curricula at all levels of education, including correspondence courses.

In 1973 the executive branch dealing with the legal aspects of education was the Council of Ministers, and the Ministry of National Education dealt with all administrative matters. The minister of national education is a member of the Presidium of the National Assembly as well as of the BKP Central Committee. Similarly, the assistant ministers of education hold high offices in the party structure. In this way the party not only supports educational legislation but also originates it.

The Ministry of National Education has four principal tasks to perform. Its primary duty is to direct and control the educational system in accordance with the policies of the party and the government. It both formulates and approves basic documents of the educational system, such as the curricula, the school regulations, and methods. It arranges for the publication of all school textbooks and supervises the work of the people's councils at the local level.

The minister of national education is assisted by three vice ministers who are appointed by the National Assembly and who head three broad departments: the Department of General Education, the Department of Vocational Training, and the Department of Higher Education. Also within the Ministry of National Education are the following sub-sections: Marxism-Leninism, physical culture, economic planning, finance, employment, teaching materials, and cultural relations.

At the regional level the district people's councils have responsibility for organization and instruction in all educational institutions with the exception of schools of art, intermediate schools, and institutions of higher education. Each council is under the authority of its executive committee as well as the Ministry of National Education. The Education Section of the council performs the routine tasks affecting the educational system. The Ministry of National Education supervises these education sections and assists them when necessary. They are also assisted by various advisory committees.

Education in Bulgaria is generally financed by the state budget. Schools that are deemed to have national importance are financed by the national budget, whereas schools that have only local significance are financed by the people's councils at the local level. Since 1964 the expenses of many vocational training schools have been financed by various related ministries, factories, and enterprises. These organizations have played an increasing role in the financing of the schools since that date.

The only available figures dealing with the financing of education are those on higher education. As Bulgaria is considerably behind most European countries in terms of the financing of education, there is very little public discussion of the issue. Sofia, the capital city, has one of the most severe financial problems. In 1966 only 3.2 percent of the total city budget was spent on matters relating to education. Generally, financial figures for education are categorized with those for science and culture so that it is nearly impossible to separate those figures that deal specifically with education. In recent years educational reformers have requested greater sums for education than were allocated in the past.

Bulgaria's budget for education fluctuated between 133 million leva in 1960 and 491 million leva in 1971. The proportion of the total budget allocated for education, however, actually decreased over the last eight years of the period. In 1960 education represented 5.9 percent of the total budget; in 1964, 9 percent; in 1967, 8.4 percent; and in 1971, only 8.3 percent. The percentage of the Bulgarian gross national product (GNP) earmarked for education in 1972 was inferior to that of some other European and Asian countries. The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) spent 5.9 percent on education; the Soviet Union, 5.8 percent; Japan, 5.3 percent; Poland, 4.8 percent; Great Britain, 4.3 percent; France, 3.2 percent; and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), 3 percent. Bulgaria allocated only 0.5 percent of its total GNP to the field of education.

Preschool Education

Before the Communists took power in 1944 kindergartens were considered to be an unimportant factor in education. In 1921 there were only twenty-four kindergartens in the entire country.

The Communists made a real effort to establish a far-reaching network of kindergartens, which in the late 1940s included three types: the half day, all day, and seasonal. No tuition was required for the half day kindergarten, and tuition varied--depending on the income of the family--for the other two types.

Half day kindergartens accepted children after six years of age, preparing them for admission to elementary schools. All day kindergartens, which were located in large towns and industrial areas, cared for children, aged three to seven, of working mothers. Seasonal kindergartens were established in rural areas for the children of mothers whose work was seasonal. These schools operated from two to ten months per year and also accepted children from three to seven years of age.

In mid-1973 there were creches for children from infancy to three years of age. Children from three to seven attended kindergarten. Although attendance was voluntary, it was believed that over 60 percent of the preschool-age children were enrolled in creches or kindergartens. Approximately 50 percent of the children in elementary school have had their preschool education in the half day kindergartens. There were five types of kindergartens in Bulgaria: the half day, the all day, the seasonal, the kindergarten sanatoriums and the auxiliary kindergarten. Kindergarten sanatoriums provided educational facilities for children with tuberculosis, and auxiliary kindergartens were for the mentally deficient.

Elementary Education

Before the Communists took power, there were primary schools for children between seven and eleven and _progymnasia_ for children eleven to fourteen years old. Although both levels of education were compulsory according to the law, many children between the ages of seven and fourteen did not attend school. The program of the _progymnasium_ was to enable children--who might be excluded from either a gymnasium or vocational school for economic or academic reasons--to obtain additional education beyond the primary level.

After 1944 the Communists undertook a major revision of elementary education in accordance with their basic principles of education (see Communist Educational Policies, this ch.). In 1950 a new unified school system was established, patterned after the educational system of the Soviet Union. This unified, eleven-year system comprised both primary and postprimary education. In 1954 the Edict on Public Education stated that the first eight years of this new general education were compulsory for children from seven to fifteen years of age. Depending on the particular needs of the individual community, children could attend either four-year, seven-year, or eleven-year general education schools. Generally, the four-year schools predominated in rural areas, and the seven-year and eleven-year schools were more prevalent in larger villages and towns.

Elementary education is still compulsory for both boys and girls from seven to fifteen years of age. Classes are held in the morning only and run six days a week, Monday through Saturday. The schools are known as basic or general schools and include not only elementary education but also the first two phases of the eleven-year polytechnic school. The elementary course comprises grades one through four, and the postelementary courses include classes five through eight. The elementary curriculum includes the study of Bulgarian, mathematics, music, art, and physical education. The postelementary curriculum also encompasses the study of foreign languages and science. On both levels the study of Russian is compulsory.

The purpose of this general elementary education, according to the government, is to "provide pupils with general and polytechnic education combined with fundamental moral, physical and aesthetic training, instill in children a liking for work, accustom them to productive work useful to society and prepare them for studies at a higher level." In accordance with these principles "education in labor" was made an integral part of the curriculum. The total curriculum of elementary education consists of a tripartite division. The academic section is subdivided into the sciences and the humanities. The education in the labor section consists of work, beginning in the first year of schooling, in shops, farms, and factories. The extracurricular section is dominated by the work-study program of the youth organization known as the Pioneers (see ch. 9).

Secondary Education

Before 1944 secondary education in Bulgaria consisted of the gymnasium and the vocational school. The gymnasium was divided into three types: the classical, the semiclassical, and the scientific. All three included the following subjects in their curriculum: Bulgarian language and literature; either French, German, or English; philosophy; mathematics; history; the history of Christianity; geography; sociology; civics; physics; and chemistry. In the scientific and classical divisions, natural history and drawing were also given, and Latin and Greek were presented in the classical and semiclassical gymnasiums. There was also a normal school, or pedagogical part of the gymnasium, which added pedagogy and physical education to the basic curriculum.

Soon after the communist takeover the combined elementary-secondary period of schooling was reduced from twelve to eleven years. The objectives of a secondary education were described in the following terms: "the general promotion of the physical and intellectual development of adolescents, the weaning of their minds from extreme nationalist and reactionary ideas, the inculcation of the spirit of progress, and preparation for creative participation in the economic and cultural life of the country." The curriculum of the secondary schools was changed in order to incorporate these goals. Latin and Greek were no longer required, but Russian became compulsory. A new subject called general history subsumed within it the old studies of religion, ethics, political economy, and Bulgarian. Astronomy was added to the new curriculum.

Between 1949 and 1959 other changes were introduced in the secondary school system. There were then two principal forms of secondary education: the general school and the technical school. Grades eight to eleven of the general school, which were considered part of secondary education, included study of Bulgarian language and literature; Russian; French, German, or English; mathematics; physics; astronomy; chemistry; biology; history; constitutional history; geography; psychology and logic; geometrical drawing; and physical education.

Technicums and vocational-technical secondary schools, on the other hand, offered courses ranging from two to five years that gave the student a specialized education. Graduates of the eleven-year general school attended these schools for two years; students who had completed less than eleven years attended for three to five years. In 1952 labor reserve schools were established. These factory schools offered one-year or two-year training programs to young people from fourteen to seventeen years of age who had already completed their elementary education.

During the 1960s the new polytechnic secondary school was introduced in order to incorporate the elements of a general and specialized education into one system. Although this type of secondary education continued to be the main form of secondary education, it was criticized on two seemingly paradoxical counts. One group of critics claimed that the polytechnic school gave the student neither a sound general education nor a solid base in professional training. Another group claimed that the polytechnic school was both too narrow and too technical, depriving the student of a broad background in general areas.

In mid 1973 there were three major types of secondary education in Bulgaria: the secondary polytechnic or a semitechnical variation of the gymnasium, the vocational-technical schools, and the technicums (see fig. 5). Roughly 95 percent of students who had completed elementary school continued in secondary education.

Approximately one-third of students continuing in secondary education attend the polytechnic school. The stated purpose of this kind of school is "to provide pupils with wider scientific education and more intensive polytechnical training, through practical production experience closely linked with general education and technical subjects, and to prepare them for active working and intellectual life or for their continued studies at higher levels. This secondary course completes the pupils' basic science studies and polytechnical preparation. The practical experiences gained prepares them for specialization in a major branch of production work."

Polytechnic schools can be either part of the general schools--in which case they consist of grades nine through eleven--or separate schools in themselves. In the latter case the course is of either four or five years' duration. These schools are also open to factory and office-workers who are able to remain in their positions, on a reduced basis, while continuing their education.

Technicums are more popular than the polytechnic schools. Although sources differ with respect to the exact percentage of elementary students who continue their education in technicums--with some claiming approximately 40 percent and others as high as 77 percent--probably about 50 percent continue their schooling in this area. According to the government the purpose of the technicums is to "train specialists at intermediate levels for the various sectors of the national economy: industry, agriculture, and building construction, transport services, commerce and public health services." At the same time, however, the technicums provide general education that corresponds to some extent with the program of the polytechnic school.

These schools, more than the polytechnic schools, are directly related to trends in the economy. Technicums are designed to produce supervisors and skilled workers who will satisfy the needs of the economy. The course of study varies from three to four years. Although some general subjects are taught, emphasis is on the acquisition of specialized knowledge in such fields as agriculture and engineering.

The least popular form of secondary education in Bulgaria is the vocational-technical school, which is a form of trade school. Although the number of students in vocational-technical schools has doubled since 1944, only approximately 20 percent of the graduates of elementary education continue in this area. The government states that "Vocational training schools are designed to train skilled workers for industry and agriculture." The schools can either operate independently or be a part of a technicum or agricultural or industrial enterprise. Although the courses are generally open to elementary graduates, workers under thirty who have not completed their primary education may also continue their training in these schools.

The program of the vocational-technical school varies from one to three years. In the case of workers under thirty, the program runs from one to four years. Graduates of the program receive the title of skilled workmen; they are obligated to work in their field of specialization for three years. The curriculum in the vocational-technical school includes: Bulgarian, Russian, physics, mathematics, and physical education. These subjects consume only half of the allotted time; the other half is spent working in factories or on farms.

In addition to these three basic forms of secondary education, there are special types of secondary schools as well. Specialized secondary schools exist for music, art, and ballet. Although most operate only on the secondary level--requiring the completion of the elementary school--some give the complete eleven-year program. The length of study generally is four years. Music schools offer courses in instrumental music, singing, musical theory, and general education. Students of dance study at the National School of Choreography, which is divided into a section offering classical ballet and another offering Bulgarian folk dance. Art students study at a special gymnasium.

Another form of secondary education is the foreign language secondary school. In these schools all instruction is given in the foreign language selected. Russian is the most popular language, followed by French, German, and English. Although no figures are available for schools of other languages, in 1973 there were six English-language schools with fifteen native English instructors. Of the total number of places available in these language schools, 50 percent are reserved for girls and 50 percent for boys. Of the same total, 20 percent are reserved for children of "the active fighters against fascism and capitalism."

Higher Education

In the period between the 1921 reforms and the years just before World War II, there were nine institutions of higher education in Bulgaria. The University of Sofia was both the largest and the oldest. The most popular faculties in higher educational institutions at that time in order of popularity were: education, law, economics, medicine, and agriculture. The arts were the least popular faculty. In mid 1973 statistics were unavailable for both engineering and physical education (see table 9).

When the Communists took power in 1944 they made sweeping changes in the field of higher education. Universities--which had heretofore been autonomous--were put under state control; members of the party sat on faculty councils that selected and promoted professors. University graduates were placed by the government and were subject to punishment under the newly established penal code if they refused to accept assignments.

_Table 9. Number and Proportion of Students in Various Bulgarian University Faculties, Selected Years, 1939-71_