The Bulgarian educational system Our TREASURES European school partnership project under the Comenius programme 1st project meeting – Targovishte, 17th-21st October 2010

Main features of the Bulgarian education The education at state and municipality schools is free of charge, except for the higher education schools Full-time education is compulsory for all children aged between 7 (or 6, if the parents wish) and 16 Grading is based on written and oral testing, homework, and in-class participation The grading system is based on numerals, where 6 is the highest and 2 is the lowest grade a student can obtain. Passing grades are from 3 to 6; 2 denotes a failure Parents have legal responsibility to secure the school attendance of their child All schools admit students of both genders The official language of instructions is Bulgarian

Main features of the Bulgarian education The curriculum is composed of three components: compulsory, elective, and optional; the correlation between those varies at different types of schools Subjects fall into the following eight major areas of content: Bulgarian language and literature Foreign languages Mathematics Information and communication technologies Social sciences and civics Natural sciences and ecology Music and art Physical education and sports

Main features of the Bulgarian education The school year starts on September 15th and ends in May or June depending on the grade level of the students and on the quantity of material that needs to be covered : It ends on May 24th for grades 1 and 12 On May 31st for grades 2 - 4 On June 15th for grades 5 - 8 On June 30th for grades 9 – 11 The school year is divided into two terms. The first term begins on September 15th and ends at the end of January Classes meet five days a week and usually take two shifts (morning and afternoon)

School day organization School day begins at: 8:00 – 1st, 2nd grade 7:30 – 3rd, 4th grade 7:30/13:30 – 5th-12th grade Duration of a lesson: 35 min – 1st, 2nd grade 40 min – 3rd, 4th min 40/45 min – 5th-12th grade Break: 10 min after each lesson Long break: 15/20 min, after the 3rd lesson Lessons per day: 4 - 7

Pre-primary education Level Age Babysitters, nursery school (half- or full day, not compulsary, public or private) 1 - 3 Kindergarden (full day, not compulsory but rather common, public or private) 3 - 6 Pre-primary school / preparatory class (compulsory, at kindergardens or schools) 6 - 7

Basic (elementary) school Grade Type of school Age Duration 1st to 4th grade (certificate for Primary Education) Primary school 7 - 10 4 years 5th to 7th/8th (certificate for Elementary/ Basic Education) Basic (Lower secondary) school 11 – 13/14 3 or 4 years

Secondary education Grade Type of school Age Duration 9th to 12th grade Non-specialized comprehensive schools 15 - 19 4 years 8th/9th to 12th grade Specialized comprehensive schools (for those who want to study languages, mathematics, or informatics in-depth) 14/15 - 19 4 or 5 years Vocational (technical) schools Students graduating from secondary school must pass national matriculation exams in Bulgarian language and literature and another subject of their choice.

Higher education schools Types of higher education institutions: Universities Colleges Specialized higher schools University stages: Specialist's degree Bachelor's degree Master's degree Doctoral degree

Expected changes in the structure of education Completion of basic education after the 7th grade instead of 8th grade The 8th grade – a year of intensive learning a foreign language and computer and/or vocational training for all pupils Division of the secondary level into two stages: First secondary stage (8th – 10th grade): the end of this stage will mark the completion of compulsory education Second secondary stage (11th – 12th grade): At the end of this stage they have to take national matriculation exams in order to complete their secondary education

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