Renaissance enthusiasm alone is not enough to sustain Bulgarian language teaching abroad

The XVII Annual Conference of the Association of Bulgarian Schools Abroad is held in Sofia and Blagoevgrad

published on 7/23/24 2:34 PM

Opening of the XVII Annual Conference of the ABSA.

Photo: BTA

A total of 396 Bulgarian schools have been registered abroad for the 2024/2025 academic year, in 43 countries on six continents.

This was announced by Vanya Balcheva, head of the Directorate for Education of Bulgarians Abroad and School Network at the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science, at the opening of the 17th annual conference of the Association of Bulgarian Schools Abroad (ABSA) in Sofia. The theme of this year's conference is "Bulgarian Schools Abroad: Education as Care and Value".

Caretaker Education and Science Minister Galin Tsokov opened the annual conference. A report by the Ministry was presented, according to which Spain has the most Bulgarian Sunday schools - 52, with a total of 3 973 students enrolled last year, followed by Moldova with 51 schools and 4 409 children, Ukraine - 50 schools and 7 924 Bulgarian children, followed by the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland - 44 schools, 27 in Germany, 18 in Greece and Italy, and France with 12 each. In the USA, Bulgarian children can learn to read and write in 44 schools, with 3 068 children attending classes in the last school year.

These data are not just dry statistics, but also proof of the existence of what we call "a Bulgaria outside Bulgaria". The fact that the country's traditions, culture and language are preserved, kept alive and enriched helps almost 250 000 Bulgarian children to know more about their origins and to make others aware of them.

This is the proof that Bulgaria has a bright future, according to the representatives of the Association of Bulgarian Schools Abroad. For 17 years they have been working to establish closer cooperation with Bulgarian institutions. One of their main goals is to bring about the necessary changes in the country's education system and adapt it to today's needs. "A lot has been done, but more needs to be changed," Evelina Avramova, a mother, journalist and teacher, told Radio Bulgaria:

"The conclusion of this conference should be that education is a value that we must preserve. Current government policies will not allow all the educational centres that have been built over the years to be as well maintained and attractive as they have been. Many of the Bulgarian schools abroad urgently need support to operate. They do not need textbooks and curricula, as in the early years of our existence, but help in finding premises and, more importantly, funding for these premises.

Rents are extremely high at the moment, and when we get financial support from the Ministry of Education and Science, it goes mainly to pay rent and overheads, and all the other 'extras' like teachers' fees and so on take a very, very, back seat. You know, it is simply inconceivable to talk about quality education without all the factors for its realisation being in place, and it would be a mistake to think that everything should be and will continue to be just a product of renaissance enthusiasm. To put it simply, updating the budget allocations for Bulgarian schools abroad should be a priority".

There has been a successful dialogue with the Ministry of Education and Science. Three financial programmes to support Bulgarian schools abroad are a fact - the main programme "Mother Tongue and Culture Abroad" and the new ones "The Untold Stories of the Bulgarians" and "Bulgaria - Educational Routes".

The road to the desired changes is clear, but difficult. It is evident that more and more Bulgarian children are being born abroad and in mixed marriages. "It is indeed a question of making an effort to give these children a clear picture of what Bulgaria means," adds Evelina Avramova.

"I am the mother of twins who were born abroad, and when they asked me in their infancy, 'What am I? "I simply told them: You are this little bridge between Sofia, Bulgaria and Saarbrücken, Germany, between these two worlds. Look how good it is that you can see, feel, speak and read both cultures. There is not only one language, not only one culture. This world was born with colour and it is up to us to preserve, explore and accept it," says Evelina Avramova, one of the 2000 teachers abroad who teach children Bulgarian colour and rhythm.

Photos: Vesela Krusteva, BTA

Translated and posted by Elizabeth Radkova

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