The claim of the Minister of Health that there is no staffing problem with nurses in the crèches categorically does not correspond to the facts, announced the Sofia Municipality in an official position, distributed on September 12, 2026. According to official data from the local authorities in Sofia, there are 260 nursery groups, for the normal functioning of which, according to current regulations, a total of 520 nurses are required. Currently, however, the actual working specialists are only 364, with more than half of them already of retirement age. This critical shortage of nearly 160 frames puts at direct risk of closure 78 nursery groups in the capital, which would leave 1716 children without day care immediately before the start of the new school year.
The municipality's position is a direct response to the statement of Health Minister Ivkova, who earlier stated on Nova TV that the regulatory framework currently includes mechanisms for response through Regulation No. 26 - including the possibility of appointing educators in nursery groups. However, the Sofia Municipality countered that the appointment of an educator under the current rules is only additional personnel for organizing care, and not a real replacement for the medical specialists required by law. The local government has called on the Minister of Health to urgently review the opinions of the Bulgarian Medical Association, the Sofia Medical College and the Bulgarian Pediatric Association, which have already officially supported the request to switch to a new, multidisciplinary model.
Sofia is demanding legislative changes, in which the nurseries will switch to the system of the Ministry of Education and Science. The goal is for nurses to concentrate entirely on health monitoring and prevention, while the daily activities and care for children up to 3 years old will be taken over by early childhood development experts and educators. The Sofia Municipality emphasizes that the Bulgarian system remains the only one in Europe with the outdated requirement for two nurses in each group, and called on the state for a responsible debate based on real data, rather than administrative denial of the problem.