Като резултат от съвместната ни работа с доц. д-р Ванче Бойков от Университета в Ниш се появи и това изследване на ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛНИТЕ ПОЛИТИКИ ПО
ОТНОШЕНИЕ НА НАЦИОНАЛНИТЕ И ЕТНИЧЕСКИТЕ
МАЛЦИНСТВА В БЪЛГАРИЯ И СЪРБИЯ, което е публикувано на английски в сборника: REENGINEERING AND ENTERPRENOURSHIP UNDER THE CONTEMPORARY CONDITIONS OF ENTERPRISE BUSINESS, Nis, 2012, ISBN: 978-86-6125-065-1
Сборникът включва тематична колекция от статии на учени, работили по Tempus project: 145010-TEMPUS-2008-RS-JPHES Development of Lifelong Learning Framework in Serbia (DELFIS)
Статията е публикувана на стр. 143-159
COMPARATIVE ANALISYS OF THE EDUCATIONAL
POLICIES REGARDING THE NATIONAL AND THE ETHNICAL MINORITIES IN
BULGARIA AND SERBIA
SUMMARY:
This paper
presents and
analyses the law
frame related to
the educational
policies regarding
the children belonging
to different ethnical and national minority groups in the two
neighbouring Balkan countries.
The work describes the development of the
processes ensuring the equal access to quality education of kids’
whos mother language is different from the official language of the
country. Also it analyses the actual condition and the possibility
for studying mother language at school.
The paper presents good practices and
achievements in the field of educational integration and the
intercultural education and suggests improvements which are specific
for each of the two countries but still bound together by the
European educational framework and common European values.
DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTIC OF THE POPULATION.
Bulgaria
|
Serbia
|
According
to NSI (National Statistical Institute) the population of Bulgaria
(dated 01.02.2011) is 7 364 570 people.
The
Bulgarian ethnical
group consists
of 5 664 624
people, or
84.8% of all perons who voluntierly declared their ethnical
iddentity. The
Turkish ethnical
group is the
second in
numbers, as
588 318 people have declared themselves as ethnical Turks.
They are 8.8% of all people.
The
Roma ethnical
group is
traditionally the third
in size. It concsists of 325
343 people or 4.9% which is a
0.2% rise since 2001.
49
304 people belong to other ethnical groups, which makes
0.7%. Here we can find Russians
- 9 978 people, Armenians
- 6 552 people, Vlachs
- 3 684 people, Greeks
- 1 379 people, Jews
- 1 162 people, Karakachanians
- 2 556 people, Macedonians
- 1 654 people, Romanians
– 891 people, Ukrainians
- 1 789 people, and others
- 19 659 people.
The persons
with undefined
ethnical identity are 53 391 - 0.8%.”
|
In the end of 2011 a cansus was performed in Serbia. According to
the published data the population of the republic is 7
129 666 people. The
national minorities
in Serbia
(without Kosovo
and Metohia)
are 13,47% or
1 135 393 people.
The most numerous are the Hungarians (293 299
people ot 3.91%), Boshnians
(136 087 people or 1.81%) and
Roma (108 193 people or
1.44%).
There
are 20 497 Bulgarians living in
Serbia (0,27%).
|
RESULTS FROM THE COMPARISON OF THE DATA:
General characteristics:
The number of people living in the two
neighbouring Balkan countries is almost the same;
The percentage
of people identifying themselves as part of a
minority group is
almost the same
– 14,2% in Bulgaria
and 13,47% in Serbia.
Differences:
In Bulgaria the
data colected
concerns ethnical
minorities while
in Serbia it
concerns national
minorities.
There are two
big minorities
in Bulgaria –
Turkish (8,8% of
the population)
and Roma (4,9%)
as well as
large variety of
many other
smaller national
or ethnical
minorities called
“other ethnical
groups” (1%)
and the same amount of people (1%) that have not declared their
ethnical identity. In Serbia, the largest
minority – the Hungarians are less than 4% and the Roma are 1,44%.
In Bulgaria
there are no explicit
territorial divisions of the
ethincal minorities.
In certain regions the Turkish minority is local majority but this
is true only for particular villages in North-East Bulgaria and the
Rodopi Mountains, while in Serbia there are regions that are
populated exclusively with members of one minority. All national
minorities in Serbia are homogenic in certain territory exept the
Roma who are spread around the whole country. The Hungarians live in
the notrhern part of the republic in the autonomy region of
Voivodina, the Boshnians live in Rashka
region and the Albanians – in the southern areas and the autonomy
region Kosovo and Metohia. The Bulgarian minority
is concentrated mainly in the towns of Dimotrovgrad (Tsaribrod) and
Bosilegrad
and few of them live in the municipalities of Surdulica and
Babushnica.
The Bulgarians
are a majority
in Bulgaria and
a minority in
Serbia where the
represent 0,27% of the
total population.
NATIONAL LAW
FRAME WHICH
DEFINES THE
POLICIES REGARDING
THE NATIONAL
AND ETHNICAL
MINORITIES IN
BULGARIA AND
SERBIA
Bulgaria
|
Serbia
|
The Bulgarian law-maker has developed and accepted in the
Constitution of Republic of Bulgaria the “one nation”
model. However it does not include a text that justifyes the
use of that term.
The key words in the political texts are „unified state” and
„union of the nation”. The one nation model is widely
used in Europe and is approved in more than a half of the EU
member states. It is based on the idea of civil (politic,
state) nation which “…consits of all citizens of the
state” [9,21].
In that sense
the term
nationality is
used as a
synonim of
citizenship. “In the frame if that model a
national minority is part of the (civil) nation, i.e. it is a
minority that consists of nationals of the State who possess
certain characteristics that differ form the majority
” [9,21]
The
Constitution of
the Republic
of Bulgaria
guarantees every
member of the stase the right
to use the
national and
overall human
culture as
well as to
develop his
own ethnocultural
identity. Article 54. (1) says:
“Everyone has
the right to
use the
national and
overall human
values as well
as to develope
his own
culture according
to his
ethnical identity
and this is
granted by
law” [7]. Article
6(2) says: „No restrictions to
the rights or privileges based on racial, national, ethical
identity or sex, origin, religion, education, beliefs, political
identity, personal and social status or belongings are permited.
[7]
|
According to the
Constitution: “The
Republic of
Serbia is a
state belonging
to the people
of Serbia and
all of it’s
nationals, based
on the
supremacy of
law, the basis
of democracy,
the human and
minority rights
and freedoms
and the
affiliation to
the European
principles and
values” [13]
The Constitution respects the human rights including the
rights of the minorities. To be considered as a national minority,
an ethnocultural community has to have long term relations with
the teritory of the Republic of Serbia and to differ from the rest
of the population by language, religion or customs as well as
presenting the will to maintain its identity.
The Republic of Serbia is multyethnical state.
The culturally
heterogenneous composition
is a result
from a variety
of historical,
political, ecenomical,
socio-cultural
demographical factors. The events
in the 1990’s and the formation of new states on the territory
of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia contributed
to the formation of new communities. Many ethnical groups remained
divided form the rest of their peoples and remained as a minority
in the new states. There are officialy 20 ethnical groups in
Serbia that are granted a national minority status.
The law for protection of the rights and the freedoms of the
national minorities is the main law that arranges the rights
of the minorities. The law settles the
standarts included in the Framework convention for protection of
the national minorities and in the European charter for the
regional and minority languages of the EC.
The fundaments of the system for protection of the minoriries are:
prohibition of the discrimination, ensuring of the equality if
rights, freedom of national self-identifying and speech,
cooperation with the fellow-countrymen abroad, obligatory obeynig
to the Constitution as well as the international law and society
moral and preserving of the unconditional rights. The collective
rights are based on the cultural autonomy, which includes the
right to retain a national identity through the right for using
the language in speaking and writing, education in mother
language, the right to use name and surname, formation of private
educational institutions, access to information, etc. Maintaining
the features consist of measures that ensure the use of language,
the developlement of the culture as well as the beliefs/religion
by giving an opportunity for bringing in national symbols, which
differ from the ones used by the mother State.
When the members
of certain
minority are
more than 15%
of the
population of
the municipality
the law gives
them the right
to use their
language in
public communication, to be educated and informed in their
mother language and to develop their culture.
This law allows
gathering of
national councils
(parliaments) of
the minorities,
which have
more than 70
set plenary powers in order to
implementation of the rights of the respective national
minorities. The
plenary powers
are so wide
that the
Pairlament of
Serbia can not
accept a
single law
regarding the national minorities without their approval.
The councils
have the right
to create
educational and
cultural institutions,
medias,
to participate in the creation of the laws regarding the
national minorities. These councils are
allowed to ask for the accepting of the respective national
language as an official in the particular municipality and to
request the celebration of national symbols and holidays.
The national councils are elected directly after the members of
the national minority apply for that.
In
2003 Serbia has
accepted a law
against the
discrimination and
has signed
bilateral agreements
protecting the
minorities with
Croatia, Macedonia,
Hungary and Romania.
|
RESULTS FROM THE COMPARISON:
Common documents:
In both
countries the
main law – the
Constitution arranges the rights of the citizens. The Serbian
constitution arranges also the rights of the minorities;
The Bulgarian
constitution defines
the nation as
a civil
formation while
in Serbia the
terms –citizen and
nation. The system for protecting right
minorities is one of the most developed in former Yugoslavia,
especially if we take into account that in this biggest republic
there was the biggest number of people belonging to different
national minorities. Despite the monopolitical system in the
country, the minorities were politically presented dirung the years
of former Yugoslavia.
All international
conventions regarding
the human rights
are signed and
ratified.
Differences:
The Bulgarian constitution does not talk
explicitly for minorities while this is included in the Serbian one.
The position of the minorities in Serbia is regulated mainly by the
constitution and by other laws, among which are the Act for
protection of the rights and freedoms of the national minorities,
the Act for the official use of the language and the writing, the
Act for the basis of the educational system and the upbringing and
the Act for the local selfgovernment.
In Serbia the
term “national
minority” is
used since the
WWI (1919) when the state borders are set without taking into
account the ethnical rights. The national minority defines part of
the population of a country which differs from the rest of the
population and one of the criterias is the characteristics, typical
for a nation: language, religion, customs, etc. The term “national
minority” is understood as part of
the people from a mother country who live in another nation’s
state. The national minority is part of a nation which has its own
country but lives in the country of another nation. In general we say
that a national minority is differentiated and established group of
people in the territory of a state, which members are citizens of the
country but differ in religion, language, culture or other
characteristics from the majority of the population.
The Serbian society is multicultural. However it is a conservative
society that assumes that the human rights are something imposed that
does not correspond to the Serbian way of life. The social and the
legal status of the minoritues are regulated by laws that correspond
to the European standarts. Respecting the minority rights depends not
only on the normative decisions, but on the deep social changes, the
process of democratization as well as the bipartate
and international relations that Serbia develops with the countries
that the minoriries originate from. The processes that contribute to
the stability of the minorities and represent a basis for the
prosperity of the country are developing slowly but steadily.
LEARNING OF MOTHER LANGUAGE
Bulgaria
|
Serbia
|
Article 36 (2) of the Bulgarian
Constitution says: “Bulgarian citizens who mother language is
not Bulgrian have the right to study and use their language
besides the obligatory learning of Bulgarian language”
[7]. This article acknowledges the presence of language
minorities.
The Act for the National Education also recognizes the presence of
ethnical, religious and language differences among the Bulgarian
nationals. Article 4 (2) is about the
access to education: “No restrictions or priviledges based on
race, nation, sex, ethnical and social origin, religion and social
status are permited”. [3]
The presence
of language minorities and their right to learn their mother
language is acknowledged in article 8 (2)
in the same act (amendments applied in State Newspaper, 36, 1998):
“The students, whos mother language is not
Bulgarian,are obliged to learn Bulgarian and have the right to
learn their mother language in the municipality schools under the
protection and control of the State”
[3]
This text created a basis for learning Hebrew, Turkish, Romani and
Armenian during the optional classes in secondary education
schools. This is also regulated by Article 15. (3) of
the
Act
for
the
degrees,
educational
minimum
and
te
curriculum
(amendments
applied
in
State
Newspaper,
95, 2002). The optional classes
that the students are obliged choose from include mother language
and religion education. [4 ]
In
the Primary
schools the
mother language
is part of
the obligatory elective preparation, and in secondary
schools, it is part of free elective subjects (optional).
The Ministry
of Education,
Youth and
Science has
approved the
curriculums for
learning mother
language and
they are published on the
Ministry website. The workload varies between 2 and 4 classes a
week.
|
Article
9 of the Act
for the
foundations of
the system for
education and
upbringing [5] gives
an opportunity
to the members
of a minority
to be educated
in their
language or in
a bilingual
way in case
that this is
requested by a
minimum of 15
students. When
the request is
made by less
than 15 students
the minister
of eduation
can give a
special permission
for conducting
the education.
All minority students learn their mother language between two and
five classes a week. The subject is called “Mother language and
elements of the national culture”.
Most
of the schools that educate students with a mother language
defferent to Serbian are bilingual. However there are schools that
conduct the educational process only in mother language. These
schools are mostly in Voyvodina region where the education is in
Hungarian, Romanian, Slovakian, Rusinian and Croatian language.
|
RESULTS FROM THE COMPARISON:
Common documents:
In both
countries the
right to study
in mother
language is
pointed out in
the main laws,
related to the
school education.
The number of classes in the curriculum is
similar – 2 to 4 in Bulgaria and up to 5 in Serbia;
Differences:
Due to the
constitutional recognition
of the different
national minorities
living on the
territory of
Republic of
Serbia and
according to the
Act for
protectiona of
the rights and
freedoms of the
national minorities,
the children
have the right
to be educated
in school
partially or
entirely in
their mother
language;
The children in Bulgaria learn their mother language only if their
parent request in written way and in the frame of the optional
classes provided;
In Serbia the
number of
children from
the minorities
that use their
mother tongue as
their main
language at
school or learn
it as an
additional is greater than the number of children
from the minorities in Bulgaria that use this right of theirs. For
example, in the school year 2011/2012 in Bosilegrad secondary school
“Georgi Dimitrov” there are 594 students and in Dimitrovgrad
secondary school “Hristo Botev” there are 718. There are 60
students in Bosilegrad that use their right to be educated in
Bulgarian while in Dimitrovrad there are none. In
the eight
classes in Bosilegrad there are more than 180
students. In the three classes in the Thechnical secondary school in
Vranya there are almost 40 students. None of them is educated
entirely in their mother Bulgarian language. For some students in
Dimitrovgrad (Tsaribrod) secondary school the education is performed
entirely in Bulgarian. There are more than 300 students in the
school and for a second year there are classes that learn entirely
in Bulgarian.
The right learn
in mother
language is a
key condition
and an
insrtument for
preservation of the language and the writing of
the minorities. The Act for the foundations of the system for
education and upbringing allows the national minorities
in Serbia to respect they own
tradition and culture along the official Serbian tradition and
culture. In Serbia most of the children from the minorities take
advantage of their rights while in Bulgaria the number of children
with different mother languages is much lower and varies in the
different years.
In Bulgaria the
Roma origin
students that
were learning
their mother
language at
school in
2004/2005 is 26, 2005/2006 - 54, in
2006/2007 – 109, in 2007/2008 - 83, in
2008/2009 - 32 and in 2009/2010 - 28
students.
The biggest minority
group that learns
mother language
at school is
the Turkish
mainly in the
regions with
compact ethnical
Turkish population
– Shumen, Razgrad,
Targovishte, Kardzhali,
Silistra, etc.
Turkish as mother language has been learned in 2004/2005
by 19 896, in
2005/2006 by 16 174, in
2006/2007 by 17 763, in
2007/2008 by 15 924, in
2008/2009 by 12 392 and in
2009/2010 by 13 343 students.
Hebrew is tought only at one school in Sofia and Armenian at only two
– in Sofia and Plovdiv.
EDUCATIONAL POLICIES TOWARDS THE MINORITIES IN
THE PAST
Bulgaria
|
Serbia
|
E. Sachkova
observes the education of the children from the minorities in
Bulgaria in historical perspective. She recognizes “four stages
that correspond to different educational policies towards the
minorities: segregation (1878–1946), pluralism (1946-1958),
assimilation (1958-1991) and integration (1991-).” [11, 49]
During the first two periods there were minority and religion
schools which were closed down by the communist government. For
more than 30 years the educational acts that do not allow the
existence of minority schools, performs assimilation policy in a
single direction educational process without taking into
consideration the ethnical and cultural diversity. It is worth
mentioning the fact that in Bulgaria there are is small and stable
number of ethnical groups and the children from these groups
attend Bulgarian schools. During the communist regime they were
deprived of the opportunity to learn something about themselves,
the group, its history, culture and contribution to the
development of the country. After the change of the political
system episodical attempts have been made to support the ethnical
self-identification. These attempts are done mainly by
non-governmental organizations through projects. In the beginnig
of the 1990’s these organization developed addenda to the
Bulgarian language, History and Music textbooks, which reflect on
the contribution of the particular ethnical or cultural group.
Bulgaria joined the
European Union and the European
educational space in
the beginning
of 2007. This created new
requirements and challenges related to the ever growing needs of
the society in the field of education. This lead to the creation
of new educational paradigma. The global world culture and the
European identity require skills for multi-cultural communication.
The Bulgarian students must obtain these skills but before hand
they need to have their own identity, view of life towards Europe
and the whole world because every contact with the diversity
happens in the conditions of the intercultural dialogue.
The
development
of
the
intercultural
education
ideas
in
the
Bulgarian
school
were
influenced
by
the
Declaration
of
the
European
ministers
of
education
regarding
the
intercultural education in the
new European context adopted in 2003. The recommendations of the
ministers of education of the 48 countries members of the European
Council are targeting mainly the change of the philosophy of the
education in the direction of accepting the values of the
interculturalism.
This declaration was highly influential for the change that was
made in Bulgaria. In 2004 the Ministry of Education and Science
adopted Strategy for Educational Integration of the Children and
Students from the Ethnical Minorities. There are two main
priorities in the Strategy that was signed by the Minister on 11th
of June 2004:
„- complete
integration of
the Roma
children and
students through
desegregation of
the kinder
gardens and
the schools in
the Roma
neighbourhoods and
creation of
opportunities for
equal access
to quality
education outside
the neighbourhoods;
- optimization ot
the school
network in the
municipalities consisting
of small and
dispersed settlements,
including the
support for
the community
schools in
order to
provide guarianteed
quality of
education.” [12]
The
aim of the
system of the
National Education
is to form
the respect to the rights and freedoms of every individual as
fundamental social value and to completely avoid every form of
discrimination. The
system has to
create up to
date basis for
studying and
respecting the
different ethnical
and religious
groups and has
to apply
systematical efforts
to overcome
the prejudices
and the
discrimantion based
on ethnical
and religious
basis.
One
of
the
main
reasons
for adoption of the Strategy
is that “there is not enough information about the minority’s
history and culture in the curriculum. The main elements of
cultural identity are mainly in the field of folklore, without
taking into account all the other cultural achievements of the
ethnical minorities, let alone their contribution to the national
culture and the development of the society.”
[12]
The
Strategy points
out that in
order to
resolve the
problems “it
is necessary
to guarantee a balance between
the integration of the children and the students of the ethnical
minorities into the educational system and the conservation and
the development of their specific cultural identity. The
preservation and the development of the cultural identity does not
differentiate the children and students from the ethnical
minorities. It is a precondition for their quality education and
for their equal integration in the school life and the society.
Confirming an atmosphere of intercultural
acknowledgement, cooperation and enclosement as well as rising the
intercultural dialogue in the multyethnical school environment is
a cruitial part of the integrational policy.”
[12]
This is the
first notmative
document that
is officially
adopted by the
Minisrty of
the Education
and Science
which uses the
term “integration”
and is
directly related
to the
intercultural education.
In the actualized in March 2010 Strategy for
Educational Integration of the Children and Students from the
Ethnical Minorities, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science
sets the following common
strategical goals, regarding the
education and the integration of the children and students from
the ethnical minorities:
Strategical goal
1:
Adopting of normative documents and applying educational practices
that ensure equal access to quality education for the children and
the students from the ethnic minorities and their effective
integration.
Strategical goal 2:
Conservation and development of the cultural identity of
the children and students from the ethnic minorities and turning
the ethnocultural diversity into a source for mutual
acknowledgement, respect and cooperation in common educational
environment.
Strategical goal
3:
Creation of preconditions for
successful socialization of the children and students from the
ethnic minorities and formation of suitable socio-psychological
climate that will help the realization of the current Strategy.
[1]
Also, parts of the
main priorities are changed in
correspondance to the change in the educational situation.
The first priority remains the same but the second one is changed
with two new ones: “support of the community schools to
grant an access to quality education and aprooving the
intercultural perespective as an immence part of the
educataional integration of the children and students from the
ethnic minorities during the proccess of modernization of the
Bulgarian educational system.” [1]
Another new feature is the accent that is
placed on the relation between the educational integration and the
intercultural education. This is stated out in the third priority.
Among
the
values
adopted
in
the
strategy
there
are
several
that
deserve
mentioning:
„- The
Educational integration
is a process which involves both the children from the ethnic
minorities and the children from the majority. Its completition
requires the efforts of the whole school community.
The
ethnic profile of the groups at kindergarten and the classes at
school should reflect the ethnocultural characteristics of the
society in the paticular settlement. This is a
precondion
for
successful
educational
integration.
An
essential
part
of
the
integrational
policy
is
the
approving
of
intercultural
recognition
at
school,
cooperation
and
rising
the
volume
of
the
intercultural
dialogue
in
the
multycultutal school
environment.” [1]
The
defining
of
the
educational
integration
as
a
process
that
includes
the
whole
school
environment
is
a
positive
step.
The
integration
could
happen
only
if
everyone
is
motivated
to
apply
efforts
to
find
the
harmony
through
raising
the
level
of
intercultural sensitivity and
tolerantion towards the difference.
The
purpouse
of
the
schools
in
the
context
of
this
educational
policy
is
to
find
the
balance
between
conservation
the
ethnica
identity
and
the
ethnocultural
diversity
in
one
hand
and
in
the
other
- providing
quality
education
in
the
paradigm
of
the
interculturalism while taking
into account the demographical characteristics of the particular
settlement.
|
The right to
receive information
in the mother
language along
with the
rights of
access to
education, acknowledgement
and development
of the culture
and the right
of official use of the language and the writing is one of the key
rights of the minorities in Serbia and is guaranteed by the
Constitution and the relevant acts.
According to the
Act for
protection of
the rights and
the freedoms
of the
national minorities
in Serbia and
Monte Negro,
adopted on
26.02.2002 by the
law-maker
institution of
FR Yugoslavia
– the Skupshtina,
the members of the national communities have the right to
adequate expression in every field of the social life.
The Act for
the local
self-government
(State newspaper
RS, № 9/2002, 33/2004) obliges
the representatives
of the local
self-government
to work “for
protection and
applying of
the private
and collective
rights of the
national minorities
and the
ethnical groups”
(article 18, point
28) and “approve the language and the writing of the
national minorities which are in official use on the territory of
the municipality” (article
18, point 29).
A
balanced
law
framework
is
necessary
for
preserving
and
developing
the
quality
and
stability of the informational
activities in mother language.
The
framework
should
apply
in
full,
functional
and
effective
institutional
measurments
upon
the
realization
of
the
official
juridical
norms
and
the
functioning
of
the
institutions.
The Act
for official
use of
the language
and the
writing ensures
that in the
municipalities where
traditionally the
members of a
national minority
are more than
15%, their language to be in use officially. This allows
the language to be used in the administrative and justice
procedures, in the communication with the officials, when entering
names in the public registers, in the representational bodies,
naming units for local self-governemnent, towns and villages,
squares, streets and other places [].
The Act for
the personal
identification documents
allows an ID
card to be
printed in the
language and
alphabet of
the national
minority.
The Act
for local
self-government
is really important for the members of the national
minorities, who live in mixed population municipalities. According
to this law tha local self-governing bodies
must provide conditions for preserving and developing of
the identity of the minorities that live in the municipality
through educational institutions, medias, official use of the
language, etc. This law provides also an opportunity for
establishment of International Relations Councils in the
municipalities where the minorities form more than 10% of the
total population.
|
RESULTS FROM THE COMPARISON:
In Bulgaria, there is dynamic to educational
policies connected to children and pupil from ethnic minorities,
while in Serbia according to multiethnic and multinational
population from the time on FR Yugoslavia appear a trend for
regulation of the rights for access to education and social
communication in the mother tongue and the legal framework for
compliance.
In the last twenty years in Bulgaria there is a positive change. As
noted by Yosif . Nunev: „Certainly the
presence of ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity "
triggers " to a higher contribution
of the Bulgarian school in implementing the initiative taken by the
Ministry of Education policy on sustainable balance between
harmonization and the principle of school integration children and
minority students and the principle of conservation and development
of their identity. The Bulgarian school is assigned high
expectations for the real contribution of intercultural education
for the realization of equitable dialogue between representatives of
different cultures in it and the public recognition of the identity
of the other. And paradoxical as it may sound educational
integration of children and pupils from ethnic minorities and other
culture differentiate communities through
the prism of intercultural education, lies between these extremes in
society side by segregation and assimilation. In other words -
through practical implementation of intercultural education in our
schools must find the right balance for balancing these
extremes.”[10, 36]
Legislation and policies coming from it are very different in the
two countries, which is easily explained by different
socio-demographic structure of the population and subject to
compulsory education children.
In Bulgaria, the official language of instruction and in meetings is
Bulgarian, in Serbia there are is
linguistic pluralism.
Knowledge and use of mother tongue in Bulgaria is a constitutional
right of every person, but proficiency in the language of teaching
is a prerequisite for successful schooling and a sign of high social
intelligence. The home language – Roma or Turkish is often the
only language that the child knows at school entry. This makes its
adaptation to the educational environment because it will not make
speech communication with teachers and other students who are not
carriers of this language. The introduction of compulsory training
one year before the beginning of schooling regulated in addition to
the Education Act 2002 does not give satisfactory results because of
the parents didn’t send their children
in the preparatory group or class. On the other hand, despite the
increased number of Bulgarian language classes for children from
linguistic minorities, the program is not supported by special
methods, tailored to the specifics of different mother tongues.These
and many other reasons led to a stressful start and followed the
teaching and psychologically difficult that with respect to Roma
children have serious conditions for dropping out of school
sometimes even after the end of primary school or before completion
of secondary education which is compulsory
in Bulgaria.
In Serbia training at school may be
conducted in minority languages, which is regulated by the Law on
Primary Education, Secondary Education Act and the Law for
Textbooks.
- In Bulgaria since 2004. has formally adopted the Strategy for
Educational Integration of Children and Students
from Ethnic Minorities, which was updated in 2010. and in Serbia
no such document.
EDUCATION OF ROMA CHILDREN
Bulgaria
|
Serbia
|
Roma
are the second largest minority group in Bulgaria and official
figures are around 325,000, making 4.9% of the population, but
unofficial data (NGOs and international organizations say that
they reach to one million). 11.8% of Roma in Bulgaria according to
the census of 2011 were identified as illiterate. 23.2% of Roma
children aged 7 to 15 years not attending school. There are
schools in which 100% of pupils were Roma and quality of education
in them is very bad. A high percentage of those who attend school
and leaving for 12-13 years (in the fifth or sixth grade).Actions
that
have
been
taken
to
support
the
efforts
of
the
educational
authorities
to
prevent
drop-out
of
pupils
from
school
through
the
National
Programme,
entitled:
„With
care for every pupil” and the project:
„Without
a bell"
have
resulted in significant decrease in the number of the dropping out
pupils. The number in 2000 amounted to
20,8 %,
and
by contrast in 2009 it was
14,7 %.
|
Roma are the youngest population in Serbia. 32%
of them are aged under 14 years and 41%
- up to 20 years. According to the 2002 census in Serbia about 63%
of Roma are without basic education, 27% had primary education, 8%
average and only about 1% have university or college education.
Illiterates are about 26%, of which 15% aged between 15 and 19
years. About 80% of Roma are functionally illiterate. In Serbia,
more than 40% of Roma children are included in primary education
and only 2% in pre-school. According to the Ministry of Education
during the academic year 2002/2003 of 82 800 Roma children
(unofficial data), only 17,323 have been covered in the school,
which is 4.02% of total population. According the same source in
2003 about 65 500 students of Roma origin have been out of school.
According to the Ministry tests after
three years at school about 50% of Roma
children are taught basic concepts of mathematics.
|
COMPARISON RESULTS:
In both countries there are problems with coverage of Roma children
in preschool and school institutions.
In both countries, the percentage of unsaved and early drop-outs
is much higher compared with children from other minority groups.
In both countries, the percentage of Roma with secondary and
especially higher education is very low
TEXTBOOKS AND STUDY AIDS FOR STUDENTS MOTHER TONGUE AND FOR
LEARNING MOTHER LANGUAGE
Bulgaria
|
Serbia
|
Although
approved by the Ministry of Education curricula to study their
mother language from class I to VIII to the present no current
textbooks in the mother tongue. There are two ABC books – for
the Roma and Turkish languages They were produced before more than
10 years.
For
Turkish language utilizes educational literature available on an
international convention with Turkey. Recent books have been
issued in the country in 1992
For
teaching Hebrew has a full range of textbooks supplied by Israel.
Language
policy in the Bulgarian school focuses on learning the official
language and neglects mother tongues.
|
Official textbooks are prepared and printed in a specialized
publisher - Institute for textbooks and secondary literature of
the Republic of Serbia. Its branch in Belgrade issued textbooks in
Albanian, Turkish and Bulgarian languages, and the branch in Novi
Sad is specialized in textbooks Hungarian Slovak, Romanian and
Romany. Additional materials and textbooks in the languages
provided by the states that have signed international agreements
such as Bulgaria and Romania. Significant role in supporting
education in mother tongue has textbook "Guidance on the
language." It is written in Serbian language, but is intended
for students from minority groups. To help students of each
minority group is prepared textbook "Additional material for
lessons on the subject Mother tongue with elements of national
culture." [8]
"Drugarche"
is a children's magazine with a long tradition for the
younger-Bulgarians. Its program is fully aligned with the
curriculum from grade I to VIII. Literary texts published in
"Drugarche" play a key role in expanding wealth
dictionary; help improve thinking and speech students. Magazine
editors devote greater attention to the students themselves. In
the section "Our Schools" students learn the news from
schools – the success of the pupils and their teachers, news of
the celebration of the patron and other public holidays. Section
"Getting Started" is intended to students themselves and
her magazines. It may be read free good essays and poems, riddles,
written reports from them. Editorial publishes Serbian and
Bulgarian authors. Children's magazine published six times a year
and distributed in primary schools in Bosilegrad, Dimitrovgrad /
Tsaribrod, Elementary school in the village Zvontsi (municipality
Babushnitsa) and schools and villages Klisura Bozhitsa
(Surdulishka municipality), in other words - in schools where
children are studying Bulgarian as their mother tongue.
|
RESULTS FROM THE COMPARISON:
The situation in the two neighboring countries is quite different,
because in Bulgaria training school is conducted in the official
language - Bulgarian and Serbia's minority students have a choice
between Serbian and mother tongue. This determines the differences
associated with the publication of textbooks.
It is important to note that in Bulgaria
there are serious gaps in the publication of textbooks for teaching
the mother tongues of students from ethnic minorities.
INITIAL TEACHER TRAINING AND QUALIFICATION OF
TEACHER.
Bulgaria
|
Serbia
|
After 1989. and changes in legislation are beginning to realize
various activities in training practitioners teachers in
multicultural school and kindergarten in the projects carried out
jointly with universities.
Universities in the curricula of teacher educators in the majors
undergraduate and graduate programs introduce new subjects or
modules related to teaching and management of socio-cultural
diversity.
They
established several special master's programs in Intercultural
Education. Provides training to teaching assistants to facilitate
the adaptation of school students and Roma teacher assistants and
teachers working with Roma pupils. In philological faculties
increased in subjects taking "Turkish Studies", "Russian
and Turkish," "Applied Linguistics", "Armenian
Studies". In University of Veliko Tarnovo were prepared
Teachers for Elementary school with Roma mother language.
|
Initial
training for teaching in minority languages is organized in
different ways. For Teacher in pre-schools are provided special
two-year programs after completion of secondary education in
specialized educational institutions. Teachers who will teach
children in school train in university and they can teach on
minority languages, if they belong to a linguistic minority and
have completed natural or social science in serbian language.
These
students can learn their minority language and in the philological
disciplines in universities.
There are state agreements for
the reception and training of minority students in countries where
this language is the official (national) [8]
|
COMPARISON RESULTS, CHALLENGES AND PROPOSALS:
Difficulties in working in a multicultural
environment in Bulgaria are linked on the
one hand the lack of basic initial training
and subsequent qualification and
specialization of working teachers who can not cope with the didactic
difficulties of students in mastering the material when they are not
proficient in the official language of which is the training, often
absent from school and have no motivation for tackling the gaps and
deficiencies in knowledge and have deficient social skills.
Despite numerous opportunities for further
training especially in the line of educational projects, their
effects on increases of pedagogical competence to work in a
multicultural environment is almost invisible in Bulgaria.
On the other hand Bulgaria has no formal policies
to promote educational innovation in managing multicultural
environment. Second comes the lack of
specific training of future teachers in technology and methods for
working with children of different socio-cultural background, and in
ethno-psychology and theories of cultural differentiation.
In Serbia all is
governed by laws and other regulations. The problem, however, is how
effectively to exercise the rights of minorities. When it comes to
education must be noted that currently there is no common measure to
regulate education. Each level of education is governed by the
relevant law. There is a Law on social
protection of children from preschool education, Law for
primary education, Law for Secondary
Schools, The Higher Education Act for Unisersity
and special Law on teachers' faculties.
For various reasons many years the social and
material status of teachers is poor. This led to a loss of interest
in teaching profession and pedagogical
faculties now saved mediocre students as excellent students choose
management, medicine and electronics. As in
Bulgaria, and in Serbia there is no
specific preparation for future teachers in technology and methods
for working with children of different socio-cultural backgrounds.
Furthermore, most teachers in the pedagogical departments are
very old and do not care about new technologies. Very rarely they use
computers and other modern educational technologies.
Urgent reforms are necessary in the preparation and development of
teachers.
Different groups of minorities should be allowed
to choose certain subjects connected to their
life and future career orientation.
Good news is that the Ministry of Education support initial training
on assistant-teachers, who know Roma language to help Roma pupils to
participate in educational-teaching process.
CHALLENGES IN TRAINING
AND QUALIFICATION OF TEACHERS:
- The curricula of teachers subjects to
include a compulsory course, related to educational integration and
intercultural education, preparing future teachers to work in a
multicultural educational environment so
intercultural competence can be regarded as part of the basic skills
of the teacher;
- In the central part of Serbia to reveal subjects
for training teachers in training for minority languages, including
to disclose to the Teachers' School in the town of Vranje to prepare
teachers for training in Bulgarian language]
- To establish university centers for
intercultural dialogue;
- Create a database of teachers who have proven
competence to train teachers to work in a multicultural environment;
- Develop criteria and standards for conducting
qualification activities for teachers to work in a multicultural
environment;
- Develop database of recommended literature,
teaching materials and practices;
- Establish a professional network of teachers who
work innovative in multicultural schools.
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS FROM THE COMPARISON OF
EDUCATIONAL POLICY TOWARDS MINORITIES:
Bulgaria
|
Serbia
|
Ministry
of Education and Science should direct their attention to the
preparation of future teachers and the qualifications of workers
towards the enrichment of knowledge and developing skills for
working in a multicultural classroom and school.
Opening
of borders and globalization expand the educational market and
children from traditional for Bulgaria ethnic, linguistic and
religious minorities in school are added with children to the
permanent and temporary resident aliens for effective educational
work which require further preparation by the teachers.
At
the beginning of XXI century Bulgarian school still can not meet
the challenges of a multicultural world. Despite occasional
attempts to change curricula, programs and curriculum, students
receive thorough preparation in order to realize fully in terms of
socio-cultural diversity. The majority of teachers have not
received specialized training or qualifications in teaching,
management and support of diversity.
Good
opportunity to get out of this situation is to discuss the draft
on the new law for pre-school and school education that can
provide the legal framework of the amendment and to regulate the
new intercultural philosophical methodology..
|
Minority policy requires a full range of political and legal
documents. Mechanisms for protection of constitutional rights and
those rights of ethnic communities that are guaranteed by law, the
weakest point in the protection of minorities in Serbia.
Furthermore, it should be noted:
- Lack of a clear minority policy adjustment in the status and
protection of minorities, according to contemporary political
conditions;
- An intermediate distance, and clashes between republican and
rural centers of economic and political power, leading to
confusion, encouraging doubt and reduce the already poor
reputation of power and its influence on the situation of the
minority;
-
Maintenance and re-strengthening of ethno-nationalist and
centralist tendencies in politics, culture and consciousness of
the majority of Serbian citizens, which further complicates the
regulatory protection of minorities.[6]
|
Protection
of national minorities in Serbia is still under construction. The
cornerstone has long been complicated, but the problems facing
Serbian society, especially the status of the southern suburb Kosovo
and Metohija is a major obstacle. Future constitutional reform, which
increasingly is spoken, it will show to what country people want to
live in Serbia.
Studies
show that minorities are agree to join the European cultural
integration. The majority is at a crossroads, some want to join the
EU, while others are in a position to maintain status by expanding
economic and political ties with other countries. Unfortunately, some
of the social and intellectual elite in Serbia formed the view
according to which minorities are one necessary evil in this sense,
they should recognize only the minimum rights that are sufficient to
not cause unwanted attention the international community [2].Such is
the opinion of Dusan Janjic, who believes that "relations
between majorities and minorities in Serbia are relations of
confrontation, which largely contribute to inappropriate
'institutional engineering' that prompted the emergence of negative
reactions of minorities."
There
is no doubt that building a democratic minority policy will be a long
process, especially when changing habits and attitudes. Finally, we
will assume the position of Dusan Janjic, which takes nine principles
on the basis of which could build democratic sense of the state and
national identity:
-
Respect for the identity and differentiation balance between human
rights and freedoms of the individual and minority rights, and
eliminating existing restrictions on ethnic rights and freedoms (eg
citizenship).
-
The minority should recognize the right of the political entity which
has expressed the will of the minority voters during the elections at
all levels. Also weave must respect minority collective rights in
education, culture, information and official use of language.
- Separation of power between majority and minority, starting from
the principle of decentralization and moving to create different
types of coalition to enable minorities to manage their affairs in
various forms of autonomy and regionalism. It is within the same
territorial autonomy co-exists and other types of autonomy above all
cultural, regional or called special status. Autonomy is limited
sovereignty and compromise between two legitimate and recognized in
international law postulates: the right of the ethnic community
self-identify and respect for state sovereignty and territorial
integrity. Autonomy and expressed confidence the country to members
of national minorities, which allows managing themselves and the
state to assume political responsibility juridical
and material for their activities.
- Modernization, i.e. construction of ethnic loyalty by the standards
of democratic society and the standards and social principles that
are relevant in the new millennium.
- Legal regulation of minority rights and establishing an effective
mechanism for protection of minority rights (consociational
democracy, Minority Government, Ombudsman, Ministry of Human Rights
and National Minorities, including revision of the electoral law).
- Considering that the protection of minorities, primarily a
political issue, it is dependent on the balance of political forces.
These relations can not be created by "trading" of votes,
and to include contracts which are not covered by the rules of
political behavior, and joint policy goals.
- The Serbian authorities should urgently take the following steps to
prevent the ongoing "territorialization" of minority claims
and unproductive "internationalization" and the Serbian
government should start with development of a National Strategy for
the democratic minority policy in Serbia, based on to be held and
legislative reforms in the field of minority protection. This
requires in Republican legislation to include former Federal laws to
take the amendments or, better yet, to vote Republican minority law,
and review of the other laws.
- It is necessary to review the case for the establishment and work
of national councils for them to vote a special law.
- It is the Council of Ministers, within the required reconstruction
to form a Ministry for Human Rights and Minority Rights, which would
assume responsibility for minority law reforms and the restoration
and revival of the institution "minority policy". [6]
Crossroads, which are minorities in the third millennium, is
conditioned on the one hand, the global social changes, which is why
multiculturalism is the lever for development, on the other hand, the
excessive insistence on preserving the ethnocultural differences that
a barrier to the desire for unification and universalization of the
values.
References:
Актуализирана
Стратегия за образователна интеграция
на децата и учениците от етническите
малцинства, С., 2010,
www.minedu.government.bg
Башић,
Г. (2005), Националне мањине у Србији, Права
мањина, Ниш, ОГИ.
Закон
за народната просвета. Обн., ДВ, бр. 86 от
18.10.1991
Закона
за степента, общообразователния минимум
и учебния план
Обн. ДВ. бр. 67 от 27 Юли 1999
Закон
о
основама система образовања и васпитања,
Јањић,
Д. (2005), О новој, демократској мањинској
политици, Права мањина, Ниш ОГИ.
Конституция
на Република България, приета на 12 юли
1991
Културна
идентичност и интеркултурно взаимодействие
в мултиетничното училище. Съст. и ред.
Калина Бозева. С., 2010
Малцинствата
в България. Изд. на НСЕДВ към МС. С., 2003
Нунев,
Й. Мениджмънт на етнокултурното
разнообразие в образованието. С., 2009
Сачкова,
Е. От образование на малцинства към
интеркултурно образование. В сб.:
Интеркултурното образование в България
– идеал и реалност. С., 1999
Стратегия
за образователна интеграция на децата
и учениците от етническите малцинства,
С., 2004,
www.minedu.government.bg
Устав
Републике Србије,
приет на 8 ноември 2006 г.
