About 3,300 more children are enrolled in kindergartens and nurseries in Varna than is allowed

About 3,300 more children than allowed are enrolled in kindergartens and nurseries in Varna, representatives of the “Educational Community – Varna” association and the “Kaleidoscope” foundation announced today at a press conference. Denitsa Stefanova from the association specified that the two organizations conducted research, and the data were collected from the childcare facilities on the basis of the law on access to information. The study was carried out at the end of 2023 – the beginning of 2024.
According to the regulations, there should be a maximum of 23 children in one group in a kindergarten, added Siyana Androva from the association. According to her, the norm for the crèche is 16 children. However, the study in Varna shows that the groups are much larger everywhere. Androva pointed out that in this way the norms for a certain area for each child are not respected. This violation was registered in 68 percent of the gardens in the city. The research also shows that admission to the crèche is limited and 911 children were not admitted.
Lawyer Yavor Yakimov from the “Kaleidoscope” foundation commented that they sent a signal-proposal to the municipal administration, with which they demand that the ordinance for compensation of parents whose children are not admitted to a municipal institution begin to be implemented. He recalled that they are entitled to BGN 457 for a child from 1 to 3 years old and BGN 510 for a toddler between 3 and 6 years old. It is proper for the municipality to provide additional teachers in the already formed groups, whose graduates are above the norms, as the teachers are experiencing difficulties due to the large number of children, Yakimov added. He emphasized that the kindergartens will be unloaded if more preparatory groups are opened in primary and elementary schools.
Deputy Mayor Pavel Popov said that the nurseries and gardens in Varna are actually overcrowded. According to him, the justification that there are usually many sick people and not everyone attends the groups is not reasonable. Popov added that information should be actively promoted that parents have the right to financial compensation if their child is not admitted to a municipal institution. According to him, there are only two submitted applications for this type of compensation in Varna. Popov also added that in order to solve the problem with the gardens, options for public-private partnerships should also be sought.