Private schools to receive a State subsidy as well

“As of the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year, the State will provide subsidies for private schools as well,” Deputy Minister of Education and Science Milena Damyanova said today when presenting the Bill on School and Pre-school Education. The draft stipulates that the money allocated to private schools from the budget should finance only curriculum-related activities and the extra costs will be covered by tuition fees.

The amount of funds to be granted to private schools by the State will be set on the basis of the average standard for the maintenance of a student in municipal and state-owned schools. “This standard is about BGN 1,200 at present and delegated budgets are based on it,” specified Krasimir Valchev, Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Education. According to his estimates, about BGN 10 mln will be needed for financing private schools during the 2013-2014 school year. Control over the spending of funds in private schools will be exercised by the respective municipalities and the Audit Office.

When answering a question why the State should provide part of the financing of students in private schools, Milena Damyanova explained that the parents of these children pay taxes, too, and such financing is a European and global tendency. According to her, for several years now, the Bulgarian Association of Private Schools has been insisting on introducing the “money follows the student” principle. Moreover, private schools have promised to cut their tuition fees by the amount of the standard maintenance of a student if they receive State subsidies. Currently, annual tuition fees in private schools in Bulgaria are in the range of BGN 2,000 and BGN 5,000, and some 8,000-9,000 children are being educated in them.

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