Bulgaria's Minister of Education, Daniel Valchev, presented Monday a draft bill aimed at a radical reform of the Bulgarian high school education including a strengthening of school discipline.

The bill stipulates that students who are drunk or are not dressed appropriately will be removed from school for the whole school day. In addition, teachers will be entitled to order students who misbehave to leave the respective class.

According to the Education Minister, both students and teachers are obliged to obey the rules banning students from going to class with alcohol, cigarettes, guns, mobile phones, and inappropriate clothing.

The reforms also provide for grading students' discipline, and students with lower discipline grade are supposed to be seen as in a disadvantaged position later when competing against students with good discipline marks for scholarships, college, and jobs.

The bill introduces clearly parents' obligations regarding their children who attend high school, and gives a paid eight-hour leave per year for meetings requested by teachers and school headmasters.

The reforms also state that Bulgarian students will complete their elementary school education after seventh grade, not after eighth grade as they do under the present system.

High school education will be divided into two phases - first phase - from eighth until tenth grade, which will be compulsory, and second phase - eleventh-twelfth grades, which will be not be compulsory, and will be used as preparation for applying to university.

The draft bill provides for a five-year term for school headmasters without limitations on the number of terms that can be served.

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