1. Professional courses and secondary education
In 1913-1915 and 1919-1941, during the periods of Serbian rule the vast network of Bulgarian educational institutions was completely destroyed. Furthermore, even the instruction in Serbian style was not encouraged. In inter-war Yugoslavia "the education was compulsory for fourth grade in these places where schools were built. There were schools - here and there - not all over as in Bulgaria. For instance, there was only one four grade school in Kriva-Palanka region: one for more than 40 000 inhabitants. In fact, the common peasant could hardly send his child in a town far away to have better education. Small wonder that people remained illiterate and indifferent to the book, that they have not community cultural centres, libraries at their homes". [11]
After the end of 1920s Serbian authorities didn't establish new schools, they even deliberately closed down some schools already existing in the town of Prilep. "The Serbs realized that the education encouraged strong moral as well as understanding of the brutal deprivation from basic human rights.. That was the reason why the school was closed; when it became private, pupils invariably failed on their matriculation mainly because school teachers and inspectors established insufficient knowledge of Serb language." [12]
The Bulgarian administration inherited the same situation: "The Serbian colonial authority supported only 462 schools in Macedonia, 157 of them have more than 2 classrooms, 230 have 2 classrooms and only 106 have only 1 classroom [13]. In the first days of Bulgarian administration the new authorities paid special attention to the teachers that had finished pre-1913 Bulgarian pedagogical schools. Status quo teachers, Bulgarian by birth, were also specially honoured. In its first issue from May 24, 1941 the newspaper "Tselokupna Bulgaria" informed that: "The Ministry of Education knows about the peculiar difficulties of local Bulgarian teachers; their position will be regulated soon" [14]. In 15 towns [15] for them were organized special refreshers courses in Standard Literary Bulgarian in the beginning of May 1941. For example, the Skopie course was attended by 95 primary teachers. Twenty of them were Bulgarian Exarhist ones from the pre-1913 Ottoman period. On July 1941 more than 300 teachers were sent to a two-month course in Sofia [16]. Bulgarian government insisted in the next school year to be opened possibly "larger number of schools, including all towns and larger villages. To this end, the existing Yugoslavian school building proved insufficient; other public and private buildings were adapted for educational purposes" [17]. These actions were commented in length by the post-war Skopie history writers: "Using the dissatisfaction of the Macedonian People towards the former Serbs Educational policy in Macedonia, Bulgarian government wanted to attract this nation with promises for wide school network; in fact, it worked in this way for one and only Bulgarian nation". [18]
The reparation of school buildings supports the assumption that the Bulgarian rule in Macedonia was not based on a power of invasion. The Skopie history writers were compelled to find that "only in Macedonia were opened 800 primary schools, 160 junior high school and 10 secondary schools and 7 named secondary school's branches. There were two boy's and girls high school in Skopie and mixed schools in Bitolia, Ohrid, Veles, Kumanovo, Prilep, Strumitza and Shtip. Secondary school branches existed in Berovo, Gevgelija, Kavadartzi, Kochani, Kratovo, Radovish and Resen... Parallel to real high schools openings the Ministry of Education brings a decision to create classical grades in several schools for the school year 1941/42. They were created in Skopie, Shtip, Bitolia, Veles, Ohrid and Prilep towns all of them ... After the situation was considered, it was decided to open two commercial high schools - in Skopie and Britola" [19]. For the school year 1941/42 it was open a music school [20], which was transformed during the school year 1943/44 in a 5th years Music high school. [21]
In accordance with the educational ministry's policy 15 agricultural and 3 practical schools operated in the school year 1941/42 to meet the economic needs. A number of short and long duration agricultural courses was organized as well [22]. A secondary agricultural school was opened in Bitola on 15 September 1942. In 1941 a state school for national handicrafts it was opened, with an aim "to carry on the traditions of the Bulgarian Ohrid school from the past".
The state school for nurses opened its doors in the Autumn 1941 in Skopie [23]. And more significantly, on January 1, 1942 the town of Skopie witnessed the opening of the State Police School, which recruited its gradates only among the population of Macedonia [24]. In other words, the Bulgarian authorities had confidence in the majority of Macedonian population and recruited from it the rank and file of the police.
The dynamics of pupil's enrolment during the Bulgarian rule could serve as other major indication. Pupil numbers in the school year 1941/42 ran up to 95.579 scholars, 79.191 in the Primary schools, 19.319 in secondary schools and 3.157 in the high schools. There are 450 learners in the vocational and special schools. With the purpose of stimulating the education in Macedonia, Bulgarian Government granted 2 mln. lv. for scholarships in 1941. A project was personally prepared by prime-minister Bogdan Fillov for granting scholarships to the value of 6.mln. lv in the school year 1941/42. As the same time the ministry established funds for gifted children and poor pupils. Two hundred and eight talented children were supported by the state in 1943/44. The allowances for the poor pupil were also substantial: for example, in Skopie district it was as much as 190.258 lv. Two years later, in 1943/44 school year it increased to 303. 634 lv. [25]
The post-war Skopie histories had no difficulties to compose a suitable comment: "There was an enrolment in large numbers; the reason for this was not the sentimental feeling to the Bulgarian schools, as the Bulgarian educational authorities usually interpreted. That took place because of the people's desire to get their education" [26]. The applications such as that of Dragan Milanov Strezov - a pupil from 6-th grade of the Resen secondary school illuminate precisely the ethnic attachment to the Bulgarian community: "I'm asking you for your kindness to grant me with a scholarship for continuation of my education... My mother's father was a fighter for liberation of Macedonia and he perished as a victim of his patriotism. I inherited the Bulgarian legacy from him and I would like to continue his deeds as an educated citizen of United Bulgaria". [27]
It worths noting that in 1941 the schools in district of Bitola were daily attending by 111 Bulgarian pupil from these areas of Greek (Aegean) Macedonia, which were not included in the Bulgarian administrative zone. The Skopie history writers are once again prompt to offer their explanation: "There was a runaway on a mass scale of children from the region of Aegean Macedonia, because of a drastic denationalization that have been done by the previous Greece schools towards the Macedonians. The proposal - pupil to learn their subjects in Bulgarian, a language close to Macedonian - was more acceptable" [28]. The Skopie writers acknowledge that the number of Bulgarian scholar from Greek Macedonia increased ceaselessly. "The number of scholars from Aegean Macedonia rose later. Several proposals were made in order to achieve further enrolment: firstly, an opening of school in Bitola, secondly, of schools in Aegean Macedonia itself (Lerin, Voden, etc.); the third was an everyday transfer of about 2.000 children to Bitola and back with the help of a special transports, permitted by the German commanders in this area". [29]
Bulgarians from the areas under Italian administration came to schools in the Bulgarian zone of in Vardar Macedonia . Thus the number of pupils in the district of Skopie increased with 10.414 persons (or 12%). This was due to attitude of the Italian authorities which "made the Bulgarians send their children in Serbian schools, which were established there under Italian orders" [30]. The Bulgarian authorities set up free canteens and boarding attached to the most of schools. In the Autumn of 1942 they amounted to 500 with 20.000 children fed in. According to one report by the governor of the district of Skopie the state spent 44.500.000 lv for these initiatives till February 1942. [31]
The impartial analysis of these data, acknowledged by the Skopie historians, points that in spite of the war difficulties, the Bulgarian government allocated large funds to strengthen the educational system in Vardar Macedonia. The number of schools during the Bulgarian rule increased in 110 % as compared to the numbers from the previous years of Yugoslavian rule. Nowadays the Skopie historians admit that "the Bulgarian authorities were committed to such organization in Macedonia which was not a separate occupation regime but was integrated in the Bulgarian state administration." [32]
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11. Good Health, issue 4, Sofia 1941.
12. One hundred years from the founding of the New Bulgarian School in Prilep, Skopje 1943, p.200-201.
13. Bulgarian central state archive, f 177, op. 2, N 1603 f. 15
14. Tselokupna Bulgaria, issue 1, Skopje 1941.
15. Tselokupna Bulgaria, issue 6, Skopje 1941.
16. Tselokupna Bulgaria, issue 32, Skopje 1941.
17. R. Terzioski, Denationalization... , p. 29
20. Tselokupna Bulgaria, issue 67, Scope 1941.
21. Ordinance of the MNP N 4737 from October 1943.
22. Tselokupna Bulgaria issue 145, Skopje 1942.
23. Tselokupna Bulgaria, issue 255, Skopje 1942.
24. Tselokupna Bulgaria, issue 536, Skopje 1943.
25. A letter of MNP N 5391 from July 1943
26. Dr. R. Terzioski, Denationalization... , p. 46.
27. A copy of the application is a personal possession of the author.
28. Dr. Terzioski, Denationalization... , p.46.
30. A letter of BCACM to Bogdan Filov, Skopje, 26 May 1941, a photocopy possessed by the author.