REMEMBRANCE IN TIME - Index of

Violeta STOYCHEVA: Educational Integration of Minorities … 491
• 272 710 people or 85% of the Roma indicated the Roma language;
• 24 033 people or 7.5% – the Bulgarian language;
• 21 440 people or 6.7% – the Turkish language.
Table 1. Number and share of the Roma (1900-2011) [10]
Year Number Percentage
1900 89 549 2.4
1910 122 296 2.8
1920 98 451 2.0
1934 149 385 2.5
1946 170 011 2.4
1956 197 865 2.6
1965 148 874 1.8
1975 18 323 0.2
1992 313 396 3.7
2001 370 908 4.7
2011 325 343 4.9
By religious denomination, the majority of those who self-identified as Roma indicated
Eastern Orthodox – 84 867 people (37%). Protestantism is indicated by 23 289 people
(10%) of the Roma community, 42 201 (18%) chose Muslim denomination, 30 491 did
not choose any affiliation, while 49 491 did not self-identify by denomination [11].
The diversity among the Roma population as regards mother tongue and religion, the
dynamic demographic picture and the changes in the structure of the ethnic groups by age
should be taken into account when discussing different issues related to the education of
this community.
What is the normative framework of the educational policies regarding minorities?
Education is one of the main tools of the strategy for achieving the full integration of
Roma in Bulgaria. At the level of the normative basis, strategies and programmes,
minority issues are well covered by legal regulations, intentions and actions [12]. They
are harmonized with the legal provisions of the EU and different international
organizations [13]. Since the adoption of the Framework Programme for Equal
Integration of Roma in Bulgarian Society in 1999, the official Bulgarian policy towards
this community has been defined as “integration of Roma”. Its implementation is ensured
by concrete strategies and action plans, adopted by different ministries [14].
The general strategic objectives for educational integration of children and students
from ethnic minorities, in particular Roma, are: