Bulgarian Jewry is very much worried about the adoption of a new educational bill by the Supreme Education Council of Bulgaria, at a meeting attended by representatives of the schools of all the minorities, including the Jews, whose representative, Samuel Navon, put up a powerful but unsuccessful opposition to the measure.
The bill which now goes to Parliament, seeks to reorganize the basis of elementary education on modern lines, and the private schools, including the schools of the national minorities, and among them the Jewish schools, are to be brought into the scope of the reforms, with the result that they will be deprived of the autonomy which they have hitherto enjoyed in the appointment of teachers and the fixing of their budgets.
Under the existing legislation the Jewish school Committees have the right to appoint all teachers, both those who teach Jewish and general subjects in the Hebrew language, and those who teach general subjects in the Bulgarian language, including the three subjects which must be taught in Bulgarian—Bulgarian language, Bulgarian history and Bulgarian geography—and to pay them out of their own funds.
Under the new law only Bulgarian subjects may be appointed as teachers, and they will be appointed by the Ministry of Education, though, as previously, they will continue to be paid out of Jewish funds.
If the Jewish schools are no longer allowed to bring into the country qualified Hebrew teachers from abroad to teach in the Jewish schools it may not be possible to find sufficient qualified Hebrew teachers in the country to carry on the work.
The objection made to the provision that the budgets of all proviate schools, including the Jewish schools, must be submitted for approval to the District Chief, is that it carries with it no corresponding State subsidy to justify such interference.
It is understood that the Central Consistory of the Bulgarian Jews is taking steps with a view to having certain changes introduced into the new law, which will be more favorable to the Jewish schools.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
