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Number of first graders down by 1,000

Photo: Ivanka Petrova

The number of first graders this school year is down by around 1,000 compared to last year, said Deputy Minister of Education Diyan Stamatov for the Bulgarian news agency BTA. 
He added that the greatest number of first graders were in the city of Sofia (over 12,000), followed by Plovdiv and Varna; bottom of the list are Vidin and Gabrovo. Diyan Stamatov stated that the tendency of a shortage of teachers in mathematics, computer sciences and foreign languages continues, though now there is a shortage of physical education teachers as well.  



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