At present there are 85 000 teachers employed in secondary education in Bulgaria, which represents a decrease by 70 % in the past fifteen years.

At the same time, there are 23 750 teachers in higher education, which marks an increase of 5 % over the same period.

The figures were announced by the chairperson of the Education trade union of Labour Confederation Podkrepa Yuliyan Petrov, Darik radio reports.

The average age of teachers in kindergartens was 59 years, while that of their colleagues in schools stood at 57 years.

The teachers younger than 30 years amounted to 717, which accounts for less than 1 % of their colleagues.

According to the estimates, 35 % of Bulgarian teachers will be at the age of retirement after five years.

The male teachers in the education system are 15 %, with their number expected to drop to 9 % after five years.

Bulgarian teachers have the lowest salaries in Europe, the average European one being eight times higher than that in the country.

Currently, the Bulgarian state allocates 3.1 % of its GDP on its education, while the corresponding figure for secondary education is less than 2.9 %.

There are 240 000 children in kindergartens, school pupils are 751 000, while university students amount to 273 000.

This means that since 2000, the number of children in kindergartens increased by 20 %, school pupils decreased by 40 %, while university students increased by 12 %.