A total of 70,000 Bulgarian teachers are to receive subsidised home internet connections, said Bulgarian weekly Computerworld. The maximum subsidy would be 15 leva a month, said, the weekly. The subsidy is only available for teachers in 1st to 12th grade and applications will be granted based on a set of criteria that include computer knowledge, possession of IT certification, the ability to speak one or more foreign languages and whether or not the teacher has a personal blog or site, among others
Teachers who want to make use of the subsidy have to apply online, using a special section of the Education Ministry's website. The application process includes a questionnaire that will automatically handle the classification. The first up to 25 000 teachers would start receiving subsidised internet in July 2009, the rest in September at the start of the new school year. The Ministry of Education has included more than 300 internet service providers in the programme, many offering preferential prices, though others also offer more expensive packages. Teachers who opt for a more expensive package would have to match the difference, said Computerworld. The programme is part of the ICT in Education programme, which is funded under the EU Human Resource Development Programme.
