Photo: Municipality of Tryavna
On September 15, students from the National High School of Applied Arts “Trevnenska Shkola” in Tryavna will not enter the classrooms of their school. Five months after a fire destroyed two-thirds of the building’s roof, the state, which owns the school, has not allocated the requested funds for repairs.
The students will attend general education classes in four classrooms at the primary school in Tryavna. “It will be enough,” assures principal Orpheus Mindov. However, specialized training classes require different conditions. For these, the students will use the few remaining intact workshops in the high school building.
“What is happening is absurd,”
says high school principal Orfei Mindov. Although the temporary solutions will not delay the start of the school year for now, he is concerned. “What will I say to the students and their parents on September 15?” he asks, adding: “How will I explain that more than two months after we submitted the conceptual design and cost estimate for the repairs to the Ministry of Culture, nothing has been done?”
The state is not the only one ignoring the situation. Five months have passed since the fire, but
the insurers have not paid compensation. Mindev does not know why. He says they were doing some recalculations, which further ties the director’s hands.
On June 17 this year, Trevnenka School High School sent a folder containing the conceptual project and the repair estimate to the Ministry of Culture. The estimates amounted to BGN 2 million. The very next day, the Ministry of Culture assured them that they had sent the folder to the Interdepartmental Commission for Restoration and Support at the Council of Ministers. Since then, there has been no word. No one in Tryavna knows what is happening and why the commission has not made a decision.
The fire at the applied arts high school broke out on April 4 this year.
The smoke was noticed around three o’clock in the morning by students, who immediately notified the teacher on duty. Fifteen firefighters from Tryavna and Gabrovo arrived at the scene, and volunteers rushed to help. The students from the dormitory were evacuated and accommodated in the Tryavna Municipality building. Two-thirds of the roof structure burned down, and some of the classrooms on the third floor, excluding the dormitory, were also affected. The students were forced to take a break from school, after which they switched to online learning, and charity campaigns were launched in Tryavna and other cities to raise funds.
The collection of tarpaulins and materials to temporarily cover the open parts of the building began. In a short time, a private company took the initiative to clear the remains of the burned roof and, together with donors and volunteers, built a temporary roof for the school building. According to information on social media, the cleanup and temporary roof cost just over BGN 300,000, none of which came from the state.
In this case, the saying that temporary things are the most permanent does not apply.
The temporary roof leaked and had to be redone. And this was done with money from benefactors. However, even after being repaired, this roof would not be able to withstand the winter, because winters in Tryavna bring heavy snow and can be harsh. It is imperative that a sturdy structure and a new roof be built. Until this is done, repairs cannot begin inside the burned classrooms and studios.
Once again, the state has shown inexcusable indifference and sluggishness when it comes to children and young people. Therefore, it would be good for Minister Bachev to personally open the school year at the Trevnen School. This would spare the principal the awkwardness of explaining to students and parents why the school looks like it has been through a fire, when almost half a year has passed since the fire.
