Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. Photo: BGNES
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said on Monday that a 10 % increase in the salaries of teachers has not been discussed with him.
Speaking at a national council on Sunday which brought together 12 000 teachers, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Meglena Kuneva said that the salaries of teachers are expected to increase by 10 % from the beginning of next year.
Kuneva stated that Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov had assured her that education will be a priority in the next government budget. She vowed to make the average teachers' salary above the country's average wage and to make the starting salary of teachers BGN 660 starting from next year.
According to Borisov, the state has no funds for the promised increase and the pay rise has been discussed neither with himself nor with Goranov.
However the prime minister added that the increases might be funded through reserves in the budget of the education ministry.
The prime minister estimated that 10 % increase in teachers' salaries would cost the state more than BGN 250 M annually.
He did not exclude the possibility that Goranov and Kuneva might have discussed the promised increase, in which case this was fine.