In Bulgaria, school is now compulsoryfor children aged five and six-years-old (known as preschoolfor children in this age group) and the government offersfull-day and half-day programs. Full-day programs, which arepreferred by most families, charge about 176 Bulgarian lev ayear. Half-day programs are free, but families are oftenasked to contribute monthly to cover transportation, foodand school supplies. Because the number of full-day slots islimited, families that want to ensure availability enrolltheir children in schools’ preschool programs at age threeor four, which guarantees them a kindergarten slot whenthey’re older. But school at this age isn’t free. Thus, poorfamilies in Bulgaria may be less likely to take advantage ofearly education programs when their children are younger,making it harder for them to find full-day slots when theirchildren are ready to start at age five. A 2011 EuropeanUnion regional studylooking at the situation of Romapopulations in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and theCzech Republic found that while more than 75 percent ofchildren aged three to six years old were in a preschoolprogram, about 55 percent of Roma children weren’t. TheBulgarian-based Trust for Social Achievement, a localnon-governmental organization created by the America forBulgaria Foundation to fund programs for economicallydisadvantaged people, including Roma, worked withSIEF-supported researchers to design and evaluate strategiesfor increasing early childhood education participation amongthe poorest families in Bulgaria.
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