Two education ministry programs will educate students abroad in patriotism
Bulgarian students in Sunday schools abroad will explore the stories of worthy Bulgarians from the present and the past with a contribution to the development of Bulgaria. They will prepare their developments within two patriotic programs, whose implementation of the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) proposes to continue in the next school year.
The Education Development Programs in 2025 are expected to support the basic educational policies implemented by the Ministry of Education and Science, including policies for promoting the inclusive nature of education; Access to education of all children and students with a focus on vulnerable groups, etc.
Stories about worthy Bulgarians
The program « Untold stories of Bulgarians » aims to support the implementation of the policy of the Ministry of Education for Patriotic Education, the formation of personal qualities, values, attitudes and motives, to support the full development of the child and the student. It is performed by the school year 2023/2024.
The idea of the national program is to grow into an innovative subject by patriotism – said former educational minister Prof. Galin Tsokov during a forum last November, dedicated to « The Untold Stories of the Bulgarians ». Tsokov commented that the ministry was considering introducing an innovative subject in patriotism at a school that would educate proud and competent Bulgarians.
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| According to Prof. Tsokov, « the unspoken stories of the Bulgarians » is one of the conceptual programs of the Ministry of Education and Science, because it preserves the ancestral memory and enables the studies of students to enrich our history of the contribution of Bulgarians around the world. |
The current Minister of Education Krasimir Valchev did not comment on whether the idea would be realized and if so, at what stage of its development it was.
The 2025 program again provides the opportunity to carry out joint research from Bulgarian schools abroad and schools in Bulgaria. « In addition to upbringing in patriotism, it stimulates the application of the research approach, the search and promotion of little known facts and stories about great Bulgarians, about events of the past, for places related to our history, and for our contemporaries contributing to the civilization development of Bulgaria and the world, » the program said.
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The program is implemented by schools in Bulgaria and abroad, Bulgarian public schools abroad, Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad, teachers and students from foreign universities studying Bulgarian language, literature and culture. Activities can be carried out in conjunction with educational and other institutions in Bulgaria.
| The total budget of the program is BGN 550 thousand. |
Students will be able to study and present information about:
- generic stories of significant events and personalities with contribution to Bulgaria and/or abroad;
- the contribution of worthy Bulgarians or facts and circumstances of the past related to Bulgarian history;
- The contribution of worthy Bulgarians from the times, which are landmark for the civilizational, cultural, scientific development of Bulgaria and abroad.
The results of the research and research work are presented in the Ministry of Education and Science in the format -selected format: stories, essays, abstracts, posters, multimedia presentations, books, manuscripts, documents, photos and videos and more.
The Ministry of Education expects 80 products from the students’ research activities to be presented within the program and to organize 5 forums for their promotion.
Native language and culture for Sunday schools
The ministry proposes to continue the implementation of the program « Native Language and Culture abroad » in the course of 2025/2026 aimed at children and students living abroad. It has been in 2009 and during the 2024/2025 school year. It supports training in 129 Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad, forums, master classes, teacher training, the creation of training resources with the focus of Bulgarian language in a foreign language environment.
The program is divided into three modules:
- « Supporting the education in Bulgarian language and literature, in history of Bulgaria and in geography of Bulgaria » (BGN 1 588 000);
- « Qualification of teachers in Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad » (BGN 215 thousand);
- « Exchange of good practices, educational resources and curricula » (BGN 280 thousand).
| Its total budget is BGN 2 108 000. BGN 25 thousand is scheduled for monitoring and methodological support. |
The aim is to support the education of students abroad in Bulgarian language and literature, history and civilization and geography and economics in their part concerning the history and geography of Bulgaria, as well as to strengthen the Bulgarian spirituality and preserve the national consciousness, life and culture among the Bulgarian communities abroad.
Preparation of students and teachers’ qualification
The first module provides for activities to improve the quality of the learning environment and create the appropriate conditions for training in Bulgarian language and literature, history and geography. Some of the activities include the provision of teaching aids, books by Bulgarian authors, didactic materials and more.
Electric buses will take students to and from central schools from 2026.
The hours in Bulgarian language and literature, geography and history, in their part concerning the history and geography of Bulgaria, are distributed by classes and educational stages. Bulgarian language training for students from first to fourth grade reaches up to 120 school hours a year. In the upper classes, the number of hours varies between 72 and 120. History training includes 102 hours a year from fifth to twelfth grade. In geography, the lessons are between 81 and 120 for students from fifth to seventh grade and 90 hours for high school students.
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Preparation in Bulgarian language and literature for pre -school children up to 124 classes per year is envisaged.
| The program also includes the preparation of candidate students who want to continue their education in Bulgarian Higher School – up to 100 school hours in Bulgarian language and literature and up to 80 hours of history and geography lessons. |
Another aspect of the module is the preservation of the national, cultural and spiritual identity of Bulgarian citizens around the world, preserving the ethno -cultural identity of Bulgarians and Bulgarian communities abroad. For this purpose, the program includes additional school activities in the field of birth (native land, Bulgarian historical facts and personalities, Bulgarian historical and natural landmarks, man and society, knowledge of Christianity), culture, folklore, traditions of Bulgarians, dance, vocal and theatrical compositions, schools and more. With a total annual housing up to 100 school hours. Folk costumes and folk musical instruments are also allowed.
According to the second module – « Qualification of Teachers in Bulgarian Sunday Schools Abroad », long -term courses for postgraduate qualification of teaching Bulgarian language abroad, to present the methodological specificity of Bulgarian language education in a foreign language environment. The trainings are of two types – for the qualification « teacher » who undergoes a course of 200 academic hours, and for people without pedagogical competence (250 academic hours).
| The third module involves organizing forums, master classes, conferences, celebrations in support of training in Sunday schools, as well as the preparation of educational resources. Seminars for the implementation of the curricula in Bulgarian language as a second and to support pre -school education in Bulgarian language abroad are also envisaged. |
The Ministry expects the national program to cover 100 Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad, 10,000 children, students and candidate students included in the training. It is envisaged that 3,000 children have participated in activities related to the preservation of national consciousness, culture and traditions, and 160 teachers have increased their qualifications. Within the program, 7 events (forums, conferences, master classes, seminars) have been breaded in support of the education of Sunday schools.
