site.btaCabinet Provides Textbooks, Teaching Materials for Students of Bulgarian Descent at Bolhrad High School

Bulgaria’s caretaker cabinet decided at its regular sitting on Wednesday to provide textbooks and teaching materials necessary for the educational process of students of Bulgarian descent at the G. S. Rakovski High School in Bolhrad, Odesa Oblast, Ukraine, the government press office announced.

Students of Bulgarian descent will continue to study Bulgarian language, literature, history, traditions, and customs, and other subjects taught in Bulgarian, in accordance with the curriculum at the G. S. Rakovski High School in Bolhrad. The new protocol between the Education and Science Ministries of Bulgaria and Ukraine, which builds upon the one signed in 2000, was approved by the Council of Ministers.

The document recognizes the important role of the Bolhrad High School as an institution preserving the national identity and cultural heritage of the Bulgarian minority in Ukraine and guarantees the right of Ukrainian citizens belonging to this minority to receive education in their native language.

The Bulgarian side undertakes to conduct professional development courses for the teaching staff of the Bolhrad High School at higher education institutions in Bulgaria, as well as language courses and internships for students of the high school. Furthermore, at the request of the Ukrainian side, qualified teachers of Bulgarian language and literature, Bulgarian history and geography, Bulgarian folk music, Bulgarian folk dance, and other subjects may be seconded.

The protocol is concluded on the basis of an agreement between the ministries of education of the two countries that has been in force since 1994, the announcement said.