Refugee Access To Education In Bulgaria: Challenges And Opportunities

Abstract

This study examines the challenges and opportunities to educational access for refugees and asylum seekers in Bulgaria amid the ongoing mixed migration inflows to the European Union. Considering the country’s ongoing demographic crisis, including the constantly declining number of students at the university level, this paper identifies critical gaps between legal entitlements and practical implementation in their access to education. The study argues that the inclusion of beneficiaries of international protection in the education system in Bulgaria remains limited due to administrative and capacity shortcomings, and an overall lack of political will. It further underscores the pivotal role of education in facilitating successful integration and outlines advanced targeted policy recommendations to address these systemic shortcomings, including any disparities in treatment among the various groups of individuals granted international protection.