The Sofia Municipality proposes refunding fees in kindergartens in the summer. The Minister of Education supports the proposal, bTV reported.
Kindergartens and nurseries became free from April 1, 2022. Since then, the maintenance has been paid by the state. However, the Sofia Municipality has proposed to the Minister of Education that parents start paying fees again during the summer months, and the money remains in the budget of the childcare facilities. For this change to become a fact, however, the Law on Local Taxes and Fees must be amended.
Nearly half of the kindergartens in Sofia do not have live security or a doorman. This means that there is no one to monitor the entrance and exit, but relies on the vigilance of teachers and assistant educators in the groups.
43% of kindergartens have licensed security, and 13% have a doorman.
More than half have video intercoms, a third have intercoms, cameras, and have installed electric locks and access codes. Since the beginning of the year in Sofia, there have been 4 incidents of runaway children.
January 23 - A 5-year-old girl runs away from a kindergarten in “Lyulin“. Kindergarten employees chase him, but fail to catch him, and his mother accidentally meets him on the street.
April 15 - A 6-year-old boy runs away from a kindergarten in the “Vrbnitsa“ neighborhood after going to the toilet. The police find him 30 minutes later in the North Park.
July 21 - two children aged 5 and 7 run away from a kindergarten in the “Hadji Dimitar“ neighborhood. They ride the subway and walk to the “Gerena“ stadium.
September 24, 2025 – A 3-year-old child runs away from a kindergarten in the “Oborishte“ neighborhood. The girl was returned to the garden by a store employee who recognized her.
The reason for the escapes is a combination of factors, but the common and most serious one is human error - a moment of inattention, distraction and a great risk to the children.
On July 21, two children from a mixed group, aged 5 and 7, went unnoticed after breakfast from a kindergarten in the “Hadji Dimitar“ neighborhood. The teacher and the assistant educator first tried to find them themselves and only then reported them to the principal. They were missing for over 1 hour. They took the metro and walked to the “Gerena“ stadium.
“They shared that they also went to the mall. Apparently they had been missing for quite some time. The most disturbing thing is to hear: Hello, your child is missing - and not know where he is“, says the mother of one of the children.
After the incident with the children from the kindergarten, a psychologist worked, and disciplinary sanctions were imposed on the staff.
“We were scared because our child is in this very group. And I immediately panicked about what had happened. In the end, the children are fine“, explained Ivan Bonev, a parent.