The Communists made a real effort to establish a far-reaching network of kindergartens, which in the late 1940s included three types: the half day, all day, and seasonal. No tuition was required for the half day kindergarten, and tuition varied--depending on the income of the family--for the other two types.
Half day kindergartens accepted children after six years of age, preparing them for admission to elementary schools. All day kindergartens, which were located in large towns and industrial areas, cared for children, aged three to seven, of working mothers. Seasonal kindergartens were established in rural areas for the children of mothers whose work was seasonal. These schools operated from two to ten months per year and also accepted children from three to seven years of age.
In mid-1973 there were crèches for children from infancy to three years of age. Children from three to seven attended kindergarten. Although attendance was voluntary, it was believed that over 60 percent of the preschool-age children were enrolled in crèches or kindergartens. Approximately 50 percent of the children in elementary school have had their preschool education in the half day kindergartens. There were five types of kindergartens in Bulgaria: the half day, the all day, the seasonal, the kindergarten sanatoriums and the auxiliary kindergarten. Kindergarten sanatoriums provided educational facilities for children with tuberculosis, and auxiliary kindergartens were for the mentally deficient.
Before the Communists took power, there were primary schools for children between seven and eleven and _progymnasia_ for children eleven to fourteen years old. Although both levels of education were compulsory according to the law, many children between the ages of seven and fourteen did not attend school. The program of the _progymnasium_ was to enable children--who might be excluded from either a gymnasium or vocational school for economic or academic reasons--to obtain additional education beyond the primary level.
After 1944 the Communists undertook a major revision of elementary education in accordance with their basic principles of education (see Communist Educational Policies, this ch.). In 1950 a new unified school system was established, patterned after the educational system of the Soviet Union. This unified, eleven-year system comprised both primary and postprimary education. In 1954 the Edict on Public Education stated that the first eight years of this new general education were compulsory for children from seven to fifteen years of age. Depending on the particular needs of the individual community, children could attend either four-year, seven-year, or eleven-year general education schools. Generally, the four-year schools predominated in rural areas, and the seven-year and eleven-year schools were more prevalent in larger villages and towns.