The school teachers in Bulgaria are on a strike. They are demanding a 15% increase in their wages but many also admit that the main reason for the strike is the conditions that they have to work in: very bad facilities, behaviourial problems with the students, and generally very low recognition of the traditional for Bulgaria occupation of the school teacher.
The representative of the International Monetary Fund Mr. Hans Flickenschild (also known as the man with the funny moustache - see picture) said that we cannot afford increases in the wages of the teachers becuase we have too many teachers and schools. The solution of the problem, Mr. Flickenschild said, is to close schools and cut jobs. (How typical for the IMF you might say!)
Traditionally Bulgaria is a country with a very very high rate of literacy. It is a bit of legacy from the communist period of the country when education was given a very high importance.
While reform in the educational sector is needed VERY BADLY, the suggestions made by Mr. Flickenschield are certainly not in the right direction. The literacy in Bulgaria is at 98.6% but has gone down in the years after the fall of the communist regime. I do not see how cutting teacher jobs and closing schools would help us stop this negative trend. On the contrary, I am affraid the result of such a policy would be even more children staying out of school. But then again the IMF has never been very enthusiastic on education…
gospodin_i