Is education compulsory in Bulgaria?

Author: Yavor Ganchev

Most people will answer in the affirmative, and some will also cite Article 53(2) of the Constitution:

" Schooling is compulsory until the age of 16 "

Most people don't even notice that it's not about education, but about "schooling." This is because for most people - and certainly for everyone who works in and for the government - schooling and education are the same thing. But they are not really the same thing, and not even because of the now banal fact that schooling does not produce education, but because they are concepts from different categories.

Education, unlike schooling, is a fundamental right. A fundamental right means something that a person has because they are human, and not because it is given to them by someone, for example, the state. That is why it is assumed that the state cannot grant human rights, it can only respect them (or not respect them).

The right to education is enshrined in the previous paragraph of the same art. 53 (1) (“ Everyone has the right to education”), but this does not give us much information about what exactly it means to have the right to education. The answer to this question is given by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “ Everyone has the right to education. (...) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. (...) Parents have the right, as a matter of priority, to choose the type of education which shall be given to their children” (art. 26)

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights takes up the same elements again: " (...) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity and shall strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. States (...) undertake to respect the freedom of parents (...) to choose for their children schools other than those established by the public authorities... " (Article 13)

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights also refers to this parental freedom in the broader context of freedom of thought, conscience and religion: " Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. (...) States (...) undertake to respect the freedom of parents (...) to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions " (Art. 18).

The right to choice in education

These conventions have been ratified practically all over the world. In addition, Bulgaria is a party to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), whose Article 2 of Protocol 1 states: “No one shall be deprived of the right to education. In the performance of the functions assumed by it in the field of education and training, the State shall respect the right of parents to give their children education and training in conformity with their religious and philosophical convictions.”

These texts have the force of law in the Republic of Bulgaria, according to Article 5 (4) of the Constitution: “ International treaties ratified in accordance with the constitutional procedure, promulgated and entered into force for the Republic of Bulgaria, are part of the internal law of the country. They have priority over those norms of internal legislation that contradict them.” The right of parents to make decisions about the education of their children is also affirmed by Article 47 (1): “ The upbringing and education of children until they reach the age of majority is the right and obligation of their parents and is supported by the state.”

What does the Constitution tell us so far:

• Education is a fundamental right - it does not derive from the state, but exists for every person by virtue of being human. Education must be directed to the full development of the personality and strengthen respect for human rights.
• Everyone has the right to decide what to study. Decisions about children's education are the responsibility (right and obligation) of their parents.
• The state is obliged to respect (recognize and protect) the freedom of parents and to assist them in fulfilling their obligations.

The state is obliged to respect the right to choose

Freedom in education is not only for parents and children, it is also for all teachers and entrepreneurs who create educational services. This is expressed in an excellent way in Art. 23: “ The State creates conditions for the free development of science, education and the arts and supports them.” This text unequivocally obliges the State to respect the freedom of education and places it in the subordinate position of an assistant.

Moreover, placing freedom of education in the same group as art and science is very telling. Just as the Minister of Culture has the right to tell who can sing what and what books publishers can print, the Minister of Education has the right to tell who can teach what and what educational services schools can offer.

Does it turn out that the obligation to attend school contradicts freedom in education? Not at all. The law is a unified and coherent system. There is no way that one text of the Constitution can contradict another, or cancel it. On the contrary, when we talk about human rights, there is an understanding of their interdependence and interconnectedness, of their unity. To the extent that school education respects the freedom of education (that is, of parents to make decisions for their children), is aimed at the comprehensive development of the human personality and at the affirmation of human rights, to that extent it can be part of the obligation of parents to ensure the education of their children. If we turn again to Art. 47, we can state that the obligation to raise our children arises from the right to do so. Therefore, there cannot be an obligation without there being a right and this right being recognized and respected.

Education is a right, therefore it cannot be compulsory. Therefore, no one can force anyone to learn anything. But ensuring the education of children is the duty of parents. They can fulfill this duty only if their right to make decisions about the education of their children is respected - and, in a number of cases, if they are supported by the state. Only in this sense can it be said, with the necessary reservations, that “education is compulsory”. But this has nothing to do with compulsory schooling, as enshrined in the Constitution.

Educational institutions are defined by those who study in them

For compulsory schooling to make sense, the freedom (right) of education must be ensured. This means that the school - regardless of whether it is state, municipal or private - must be defined and managed by those who study there: the students, the teachers, the parents. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say what a "school" is, nor is such a privilege granted to the state, nor is such a privilege implied, because this would be a violation of the right of parents to make decisions about education, as well as of the free development of education.

However, we somehow take it for granted that the state defines the school service, since the state is de facto the monopoly provider of this service! Its monopoly also extends to private schools, insofar as they are required to provide the same education as state schools. This state of affairs, which is a shameful remnant of our totalitarian past, is in sharp contradiction with the basic law, and also with the trends in the majority of countries that we would like to resemble in education. In the foreseeable future, the state will be a provider of educational services only in exceptional cases, where parents or communities cannot take care of the education of their children. This does not mean the withdrawal of the state from education. It means a withdrawal only from the management of education, without withdrawing from its commitment to support.

Finally, the support that the State owes to education and to parents should be given without discrimination on the grounds of the choice that parents have made for the education of their children. This does not mean a withdrawal of State control over all types of schools (Article 53 (6)) or a lack of State requirements (Article 53 (5)) - it means that control cannot extend to the pedagogical autonomy of parents and schools, and State requirements for schools cannot eliminate freedom in education.

On the contrary, control and requirements should be aimed at protecting the right to education - for example, in cases where there are so-called "horizontal" violations of the right. These are cases where parents deprive their children of education or when they exercise their right in violation of the human rights of children or other persons. But in order for the state to control violations of the right to education, it is mandatory to have first ensured the right (freedom) to education.

This article was originally published on Facebook.

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