The relationship between the number of students and teachers helps to understand how education worked in Bulgaria during the early 1900s. The data from that time shows interesting differences among the various national and religious groups in the country.
General Average of Students per Teacher
In total, there were 540,668 students and 7,786 teachers across Bulgaria. This means that, on average, there were about 44 students for every teacher.
However, this number was not the same in every type of school. The ratio varied depending on the nationality or religion of the community that managed the school.
Ratio by Nationality
The figures below show how many students there were for each teacher in schools of different communities:
Bulgarian schools: 1 teacher for 45 students
Turkish schools: 1 teacher for 40 students
Greek schools: 1 teacher for 40 students
Jewish schools: 1 teacher for 34 students
Roumanian schools: 1 teacher for 29 students
Armenian schools: 1 teacher for 23 students
The Importance of Small Class Sizes
It is widely accepted that a school is better organized and more effective when each teacher has a small number of students. With fewer students, teachers can give more attention to each child. This leads to better discipline, more successful teaching, and improved learning results.
When teachers are responsible for too many students, the quality of education usually decreases. Students may not get enough individual help, and it becomes harder to manage the class properly Private Tours Bulgaria.
Special Conditions in Bulgaria
Even though the numbers suggest that some schools had fewer students per teacher, the Bulgarian national schools were actually the best organized. This shows that the quality of education did not always depend only on the student-teacher ratio.
In fact, schools from smaller nationalities, such as the Armenian and Roumanian communities, appeared to have better ratios simply because their total student population was lower. These communities were smaller, and fewer children attended school, which naturally reduced the average number of students per teacher.
The student-teacher ratio in Bulgaria around 1903–1904 varied across national groups. While smaller communities seemed to have better ratios, Bulgarian national schools were still the most effective and best structured. This example shows that organization and educational quality depend on more than just numbers—they also rely on training, resources, and school management.