The Education Minister Ignatov relinquishes a school real estate due to private interests

The extremely scandalous decision taken by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science (MEYS) shows clearly how the public interests in Sofia have been infringed upon in the name of private benefits.

The decision of the Ministry of Education generously agreed that a municipal real estate assigned for school use should be granted to a private entrepreneur. The name of the businessman who is anxious to build on the land plot is also not a secret. This is the construction entrepreneur Vassil Peevski.

It comes down to the municipal property located on 16 Bogdanovets St. (which was donated several years ago by a private person). The real estate, pursuant to the spatial plan of 1992, was intended for a playground for the needs of the nearby Sofia 16th General Secondary School "Elin Pelin". MEYS delivered its consent over


the construction of a private residential block on the plot

despite the disagreement of the district Mayor and of the civil organisations in Sofia.
The decision issued by the educational establishment is of special importance because, thanks to it, the contractor Peevski managed to lay out a corner construction plot. In fact, no building standards for compliance with the rate of construction and landscaping applied to the process of building up of the terrain.

MEYS' decision was taken under Protocol 32, paragraph 13 and was issued after a proposal delivered by a commission personally appointed by the Minister of Education, Sergey Ignatov under the order No. RD (registered document) 09-647 as of May 21, 2010 issued by him. The document reads that the Ministry of Education gave its consent on the upgrading of the land plot intended for school purposes into a land plot for residential construction. The motives of the Regional Inspectorate of Education were based on the vague promises that the project provided for the construction of premises for "pre-school groups, study-halls and other activities".

The project of the construction entrepreneur Vassil Peevski, however, with whom Klassa's reporter talked as early as the autumn of 2010 (after the above-discussed MEYS decision), envisaged for the construction of a 7-8-storey building on the plot with almost 100% housing development on the site, as well as the construction of an adjacent one-storey unit having premises for public use, without specifying what type and whose they will be. If we inspect more closely the project's design, it becomes immediately clear that it does not come down to premises for school activities with children since the building standards for that construction cannot be met in any case.

Based on documents at the disposal of Klassa's editorial office, it is evident that the decision was dictated by the Education Minister, Sergey Ignatov himself or, at least, has been approved by him. This raises the question why the Minister responsible for children's education considered as more urgent the construction of a residential building on the plot assigned for the needs of adolescents. And this happened given that overbuilt Sofia needs areas and buildings intended for children's interests.

The property could be used as a playground for the adjacent 19th General Secondary School "Elin Pelin" or as a nursery, adjoined to the existing kindergarten. Both options were documented as petitions submitted by the school management and headmistress of the 124th central kindergarten in a letter to the mayor's administration, copies of which are at Klassa's disposal.

In fact, Klassa tried twice to learn more about Minister Ignatov's motives to stand behind the private instead of the public interest. However, our email sent to the Ministry of Education,


was obviously lost online and remained unanswered

and after Klassa demanded an answer pursuant to the Access to Public Information Act, the response received by our editorial office recommended that "we clarify the subject of the information requested." MEYS officials even explained to our reporter that they were unable to find such a decision in their archives. Klassa gained information on the document thanks to a citizen who managed to obtain it from Ignatov's Office. Apparently, however, the question posed by Klassa daily seemed too inconvenient or "insignificant" to the Education Minister, Sergey Ignatov because, despite our numerous inquiries, we failed to receive any answer at all.

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