Pedagogical councils in Sofia's kindergartens could pose additional admission criteria and leave principals to decide which child should be admitted, according to a report by Yordanka Fandukova, deputy education mayor, presented for discussion at the Sofia city council, Dnevnik daily said on March 6 2009.

Starting from September 2009, each child would be evaluated according to a set of criteria and receive points depending on the results. When children gain an equal amount of points, the principal of the respective kindergarten would have the final say.

Admission advantages have been awarded to orphans and children with a single parent or unknown parents. But a quota of only 30 per cent in each age group is allocated to children with special social status.

The long-discussed stipulation for parents to have a permanent address registration in Sofia would bring only one point, Dnevnik daily said.

Children from larger families, and those who had gone to a day nursery for at least six months before they applied, would also be awarded one point. Previously mooted proposals, whereby parents would have to present proof of taxes paid, would not be included, Fandukova said as quoted by the newspaper.

However, representatives from the Parents Association and the Association of Current and Future Mothers have objected to the idea of principals having the final say. They argue that the choice could be manipulated. Some parents have even expressed concerns that this could easily lead to corruption, especially when scarce vacant places have to be distributed among many children with an equal amount of points, Dnevnik said.

Fandukova said that in such cases children could be chosen by a draw. Or the date of their application could also be considered. The deputy mayor said that chances for corruption would be minimised.  Admission criteria of each kindergarten will be posted on the information placement system, which would select children automatically. Principals would have nothing to do with it, Fandukova said.

An additional swaying factor in admission could be if the candidate has a sibling attending the same kindergarten. Donations would not be considered an advantage for admission, the deputy mayor said as quoted by Dnevnik daily.

Final admission rules would be presented to Sofia city council for voting in the near future.