Bulgaria's budget for education fluctuated between 133 million leva in 1960 and 491 million leva in 1971. The proportion of the total budget allocated for education, however, actually decreased over the last eight years of the period. In 1960 education represented 5.9 percent of the total budget; in 1964, 9 percent; in 1967, 8.4 percent; and in 1971, only 8.3 percent. The percentage of the Bulgarian gross national product (GNP) earmarked for education in 1972 was inferior to that of some other European and Asian countries. The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) spent 5.9 percent on education; the Soviet Union, 5.8 percent; Japan, 5.3 percent; Poland, 4.8 percent; Great Britain, 4.3 percent; France, 3.2 percent; and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), 3 percent. Bulgaria allocated only 0.5 percent of its total GNP to the field of education. Preschool Education Before the Communists took power in 1944 kindergartens were considered to be an unimportant factor in education. In 1921 there were only twenty-four kindergartens in the entire country. 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. Elementary Education