Nearly 40,000 students abroad are beginning the new school year in Bulgarian Sunday schools. They will get to know Bulgaria, studying Bulgarian language, history and geography in 410 schools in 44 countries on six continents. The Ministry of Education is providing over 10 million euros for the education of children and the support of their teachers this year. This was said by the Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Dr. Tanya Pancheva, at the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Bulgarian Sunday School “Vasil Levski“ in Saarbrücken, quoted by the press center of the Ministry of Education.
Over 140 students will be studying in the school and its two branches in Kaiserslautern and Homburg during the new school year. There are 31 Bulgarian Sunday schools in Germany, with over 3,700 children studying there.
"Bulgarian Sunday schools abroad are lively and vibrant centers where children get to know their roots. Here they not only learn, but also make friends and feel Bulgaria close to them, no matter how far they live from it", said Deputy Minister Pancheva.
She congratulated the teachers, parents, the head of the school Evelina Avramova, as well as the chairman of the "Friends of Bulgaria" association Antoniy Ganev, to which the school belongs, for their efforts to create a strong and cohesive community.
Dr. Pancheva wished the students to keep their connection with Bulgaria, with the Bulgarian language and our history alive, because they are our memory and what connects us.
During the celebration, the documentary film about Alexander Battenberg “A German prince in Bulgaria, a Bulgarian prince in Germany“ was also presented, created by students and teachers under the MES program “The Untold Stories of the Bulgarians“.
With great emotion, the children presented musical performances and recitals, and the guests participated in an improvised history lesson. Parents talked about what the school means to their families, and last year's graduates received their certificates.
Dr. Pancheva presented a diploma and a congratulatory address on behalf of Minister Georgi Valchev.
The ceremony was honored by the Consul General of Bulgaria in Frankfurt am Main Diana Popova. Among the guests were also the Executive Director of the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad Raina Mandzhukova, the Director of the Directorate “Bulgarian Communities and Information Activities“ at the agency Valeriy Radolov, Kadir Cetin from the Ministry of Education and Culture of Saarland, Yvon Bikel – representative of the local government in Dudweiler, as well as representatives of the “Friends of Bulgaria“ society.