New Measures to Address Truancy

Special teams in villages and towns in Bulgaria will look for children who do not attend kindergarten and school. The teams will also have the support of the police to prevent assaults on teachers and social workers. This is part of the mechanism for inter-institutional interaction against truancy. It was presented on 4 July to the Council of Ministers and will become effective from the start of the new school year in September.

A little over 5% of children of Bulgarian origin, one quarter of Roma and more than 10% of Turkish ethnicity children are not covered by the educational system of the country and are less likely to participate in the labour market, Deputy Prime minister Tomislav Donchev said. According to Prime Minister Borissov, they either become a burden on the social system or become criminals.

The teams will be set up in each settlement and will include teachers, social workers, police and municipal officials.

The aim is to ensure that every kid attends school. If not found at the permanent address, the child will be looked for at the current address and if not found there, the child will be looked for on the territory of the whole country. The anti-truancy teams will work with mediators to convince the families that their children should attend school.

Sanctions are envisaged for parents whose children are not at school.

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov reminded that all these measures will be backed by an increase in teacher salaries and especially those teachers working in more difficult regions.

It is also considered that the mechanism adopted today be incorporated in a law.

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