Financing for equity in pre-primary education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to institutions
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
Key financing indicators (UIS Data)
The official entrance age to pre-primary education is three. Four years of free pre-primary education are granted in legal frameworks. Three years of compulsory pre-primary education are granted in legal frameworks. The net enrolment rate for pre-primary for both sexes was 87.34 in 2024.
Governance
The Ministry of Education and Science holds primary responsibility for financing preprimary education, receiving state budget funds from the Ministry of Finance and allocating them to municipal and state kindergartens.
Tuition-free status
Since 2023, all public early childhood education and care, including kindergartens and preprimary groups, has been free for families
1. Education resources to subnational governments
Bulgaria’s public education system operates with administrative decentralisation, while financing is largely centralised, as pre-primary education is implemented as a state-delegated activity and funded mainly through central government transfers. Funds are transferred from the central government to 265 municipalities, which serve as the local government administrative units. Municipalities receive resources through their own revenues, central government grants and subsidies, and other sources such as European Union funds. In practice, approximately 98% of municipal school expenditure is financed through state-delegated activities, with municipal own revenues contributing around 2%. Resource allocation is regulated by the 2014 Law on Public Finance and the Local Taxes and Fees Act.
The intergovernmental transfer system operates through three main mechanisms: the general subsidy, the general equalisation subsidy, and earmarked subsidies for capital investment. The general subsidy, the most significant component, finances state-delegated activities, including education. The general equalisation subsidy is an unconditional transfer designed to reduce revenue disparities between municipalities. Earmarked capital subsidies are allocated according to demographic and geographic criteria, including population size, number of settlements, and surface area.
In education, municipalities rely almost entirely on delegated-budget central government transfers. Comprehensive schools are financed through a delegated budget system that uses centrally defined, unified cost standards (UCSs). Introduced in 2007, UCSs grouped municipalities into four categories based on size, density, location, and terrain, with smaller and more remote areas receiving higher per-student allocations to offset higher costs. By 2018, the system expanded to eight categories and adopted more complex rules to better align funding with local needs. Municipal allocation formulas may increase per-student funding several-fold for small or high-cost schools by applying coefficients linked to factors such as heating type, building size, and low enrolment. Additional resources are provided to schools with high shares of vulnerable students, while protected schools in remote areas receive extra support to prevent closures.
2. Education resources to institutions
Central government funds are transferred to municipal authorities, which allocate resources to educational institutions under the Pre-School and School Education Act. Annual allocations are based on the number of children and pupils, the number of groups and classes, the type and number of educational institutions, and standards per pupil, class, and institution. Funding is adjusted using a regional coefficient based on the municipal centre's population and its distance from a regional city or a locality with more than 100,000 inhabitants. The funding formula consists of a basic (per-student) component and additional components that compensate for small schools, remoteness, or higher operating costs. Allocated funds support the implementation of the national education programme, development of schools and support centres, equal access and individual development support, and the maintenance of education and training activities.
Under the Pre-School and School Education Act, additional funding may be allocated to schools for specific purposes, including work with children from vulnerable groups, maintenance of classes in protected or high-demand vocational fields, and the operation of protected schools. Protected schools play a key role in ensuring access in sparsely populated and remote areas and receive additional state support to prevent closure. Municipalities also have discretion to allocate up to 15% of delegated education funds using their own formulas. This mechanism allows municipalities to maintain small rural schools by providing per-student allocations that are several times the unified cost standards, where necessary.
3. Education resources to students and families
Since 2023, all public early childhood education and care, including kindergartens and preprimary groups, has been free for families, with the state budget compensating municipalities for both fees and meal costs. Under 2020 amendments to the Preschool and School Education Act, parents of children aged 3 up to entry into grade 1 who have applied for, but were not admitted to, a municipal or state kindergarten or school are entitled to monthly compensation. Central budget resources are allocated by government decision and transferred to municipal budgets, which are responsible for paying compensations to eligible families. The support is intended to offset the costs of alternative early childhood education and care, with payment conditional on proof of such expenditure and confirmation that the municipality cannot provide an equivalent public place. The measure seeks to reduce territorial inequities in access and to lessen the financial burden on families when the state is temporarily unable to provide a pre-primary place.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Bulgaria’s Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP) operates several social protection initiatives for families with children, including cash assistance, in-kind benefits, and targeted services that address both poverty and education-related needs. Families may receive monthly child allowances and one-off payments to cover school-related expenses for children enrolled in primary school or in VIII grade. Additional measures support children with disabilities and those at risk of exclusion, including access to psychological and language support. Assistance is provided through two complementary acts: the Family Allowances Act, which focuses on supporting families with children, and the Social Assistance Act, which establishes assistance for individuals and families who cannot meet basic needs. These social protection measures indirectly promote school participation by reducing financial barriers for low-income households.
