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The state budget pledges to finance extracurricular activities at school and municipal level; resources for additional work with vulnerable groups will also be provided for an average level and schools and kindergartens will be able to engage with them NGOs; the education ministry provides more opportunities for forming classes with fewer students. This became apparent after the promulgation of the amendments to the Financing Ordinance, published in the State Gazette, no. 105 on 18.12.2018.

State and municipal schools will receive additional funds annually for the organization of extracurricular activities in the primary and intermediate level, is set in the new Art. 16a, 16b and 16c. The state budget will provide these funds on the basis of interest norms per institution and per student in a daily form or in a dual education system, according to NISIPO data from 1st of January of the present year. According to a decision of Council of Ministers number 776 / 30.10.2018 in 2019 the norms will be BGN 1900 per school and BGN 30 per student. The municipalities will receive the funds and distribute them to the municipal schools, retaining 12% of the extracurricular activities per student (not per institution norm) to organize extracurricular activities at the municipal level. With the funds received, the schools will finance the remuneration of the trainers of groups, external contractors, purchase of materials, subscriptions to specialized literature and electronic products, visits to cultural, historical and sports sites, and transport. Any funds not spent during the year will be transferred as a transitional balance and will only be spent on extracurricular activities.

Vocational schools and all other schools teaching high school students will receive funding for working with vulnerable groups, similar to primary schools, providing for a change in Art. 52b of the Ordinance. In 2018, for the first time, the Ministry of Education and Science distributed nearly BGN 24 million between schools and kindergartens to work with children and students from vulnerable groups. They only concerned students up to seventh grade, with primary and secondary schools receiving additional funding for only the primary classes students. From 2019, a resource will be provided for both primary and intermediate level, with the standard for pupils in the primary classes remaining the same, and for upper secondary classes being two times lower. 

Change in Art. 52 a explicitly allows the kindergarten or school to use means to work with vulnerable groups to outsource part of the external activities to NGOs, and the funds being provided only for the labor costs of the employees for implementing specific activities. The changes in Art. 52a and 52b were proposed by Amalipe Center and schools of the "Every student will be a winner" network, being supported by Minister Valchev during a meeting with Roma Integration Network organizations in September. More information can be found here.

Relieved conditions for the division of the classes into two or three classes, provides the amended Art. 63. The number of classes in the schools under Art. 52b and in schools with classes for acquiring qualification in state-protected professional specialties and such where there is an expected shortage of specialists in the labor market can be formed with a number of students below the minimum.

State Gazette, issue no. 105, 18.12.2018, see here

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