After five-day-long negotiations, protesting teachers in Rousse and the local municipality signed an agreement on Tuesday which ended the teachers' strike.

Classes resumed on Wednesday in all 21 schools in Rousse after the two-week strike. More than 1,000 teachers had been on strike over unpaid salaries since the start of the school year. More than 3,000 students did not hear the first school bell on September 17.

On the first school day, the teachers left bouquets from their students at the Administrative Services Centre in Rousse as a sign of protest. Over 3,000 students organized a written petition in support of their teachers.

The agreement signed on Tuesday outlined a schedule for paying overdue salaries. The teachers, however, warned that they would remain on strike alert until their money is actually received.

More than 2,000 teachers were waiting in front of the building of the Rousse Municipality while the agreement was being signed. They expressed their disappointment at the indifference of the staff at the Ministry of Education towards problems in secondary education in Bulgaria. They also pointed out that even after the disturbance to schools in the town, the 20 days of street protests, the eight days of hunger strikes and the numerous issues and suggestions raised by the teachers, not a single member of the government had personally gone to Rousse.

Last Thursday the Ministry of Finance provided 3.7 million leva to pay the teacher salaries for the month of August in 15 municipalities. For the Rousse Municipality, the Ministry provided 1.7 million leva in the form of an interest-free loan for June and July and promised to provide an additional 1.3 million leva for the August salaries, said the chairperson of the trade union of Bulgarian teachers Yanka Takeva. The Ministry also provided finances for electricity and social security payments.