July 15, 2022

What will the 150 million addition to the education budget be used for?

10% will be added to the subsistence allowances included in the common cost standards from July 1st. From the same date, the norm for the maintenance of a child in kindergarten, through which the Ministry of Education compensates for the dropping of fees in pre-school education, will be increased by 31%. The norm for student scholarships will be increased by 15% as of 15 September. The salaries of pedagogical specialists will be increased by 5% and those of non-pedagogical staff by 4% from 1 September. There will also be an increase in the amount of the National Programme for the Optimisation of the Internal Staff Structure, which covers the benefits of retiring teachers. In this way, the Ministry of Education proposes to use the additional 150 million BGN for education, which MPs adopted in the second reading of the state budget update for 2022.

Although no new funds were provided for the education system in the first reading of the state budget update law, the final vote on the update in the second reading provided for a new 150 million BGN. This is extremely necessary against the current inflation and the expected additional increase in all costs in kindergartens and schools that will occur with the new heating season.

More than a third of the additional funds allocated – BGN 54.5 million – will be used to increase the pay in the school education system so that the average teacher’s salary reaches BGN 2,032 and the salaries of non-pedagogical specialists average BGN 1,134. This represents a 5% increase in teachers’ salaries and a 4% increase in non-teaching salaries. It will happen from the first of September.

Nearly 26.3 million BGN are planned for the increase of the means of subsistence included in the standards for the activities delegated by the state. This means that the maintenance funds will be increased by 10% from the first of July. This does not mean an increase in the common expenditure standards by 10%, but by a smaller percentage, which the experts of the Ministry of Education and Science are currently calculating. In fact, the SPC (per pupil, per class and per institution) in practice contains two components – for the pay of teachers and non-pedagogical specialists, as well as for the maintenance of the respective institution (electricity, heating, etc.). This division into components is not included in the Law on Pre-school and School Education, but is made at the normative level by the experts of the Ministry of Education. Thus, from the first of September, salaries will be increased by 5% and 4%, and from the first of July the maintenance of schools and kindergartens will be increased by 10%.

Another 22.4 million BGN are planned as an increase in the norm for the maintenance of a child in kindergarten. It will also take place from the first of July, with a 31% increase. Through this norm, the Ministry of Education compensates municipalities for the dropping of fees in kindergartens – an important political step that the NGO sector and kindergartens have been demanding for years.

In addition, the norm for nutrition support for children in preparatory groups and students in grades from one to four will be increased by 20% as of 1 July. The Ministry of Education and Science is setting aside BGN 5.5 million to make this happen. Also, the maintenance part of the norm for a pupil in the All-Day School Day Organisation will be increased – BGN 5 million are planned for this.

A serious percentage of the additional funds for education is also provided for the compensation of teaching professionals who leave the education system – BGN 35.1 million. This is necessary because the number of retiring teachers is large.

Beyond the numbers:
The fact that in the second reading MPs voted an additional 150 million BGN for school education is an important step in the positive direction. It was worrying that the budget proposed at first reading did not include any additional funds for education (despite the Ministry of Education and Science proposing over 170 million BGN). One of the things on which there is complete consensus in our divided society is the need to increase investment in education.

Inflation, which is approaching 20%, as well as the expected hike in heating and electricity prices, will put a serious strain on all schools. Schools with smaller numbers of pupils (in villages etc.) will be particularly hard hit, as they have a large building stock to maintain with lower class occupancy. How far the envisaged increase in standards will compensate for the challenges is still difficult to assess. It is very likely that many schools will have to further reduce any kind of investment expenditure and concentrate only on the immediate needs of the learning process. Therefore, a fast opening of all foreseen operations under the new Education Programme is necessary, as well as the educational measures under the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan. Additional support is also needed from municipalities, especially for smaller rural schools. Center Amalipe also insists that in a new update of the state budget (which is quite possible) additional funds should be provided for the school education system!