Remarkable progress has been made in this area in recent years, evidenced by the full integration of prison schools to other schools in Bulgaria. Material foundation is newly constructed or recently renovated. However, it was not transferred to the Ministry of Education and Science, which is why costs are fully covered by the Ministry of Justice. The introduction of delegated budgets leads to pressure by the administration over the inmates to continue their education under threat of disciplinary sanction in the event of failure. The arguments for such actions are related to the possible reduction of the delegated budget, and even the closure of the school. The NPM believes that the reluctance in continuing education must also be taken into account in the risk assessment, but it is unacceptable the right to education to be transformed into an obligation. Personal property of prisoners Permitted belongings of inmates shall be determined by an order of the Minister of Justice. There is a possibility the head of dormitories to expand such list, but this creates a diverse practice and unequal treatment of prisoners. The NPM believes that the possibilities of the light regime require further assessment concerning formation of a separate list for open dormitory facilities. Use of force According to art. 64.1. of the European Prison Rules „the prison staff must not use force against prisoners except in self-defense or in cases of attempted escape, or active or passive physical resistance to an order based on law, and then only as a last resort.” The LIPSD provides that „if compliance with the order and discipline can not be achieved by other means, the use of force and auxiliary means is permitted.” The NPM inspections showed that the legal use of force is related to „obvious insubordination and/or failure to perform a legal order or prohibition.” There is no statutory requirement that order to be issued on the basis of law, i.e. any orders should be obeyed, whether legitimate or not, and refusal to do so could lead to legal use of force. On the other hand, the use of auxiliary means is allowed if the result can not be achieved with the use of physical force. According to the rule recommended by the European Prison Rules “the carrying in open of other weapons, including truncheons, by persons who get into contact with the inmates within the prison, except when it is required for security and safety in dealing with the incident, is prohibited.” This standard defines the rubber truncheon as a weapon, but under Bulgarian law, it is an auxiliary. In pursuance of the provisions of the CPT not to carry guns openly, leading to a ban on carrying guns imposed by order of the head of the prison (e.g., the prison in Varna), which leads to increased use of handcuffs. This use of handcuffs is associated with other non-recommended rule „the personnel who have direct contact with inmates should be trained in techniques that provide minimal use of force during restraint of aggressive prisoners.” Such courses have never performed or if performed, then their scope is clearly insignificant. 17 Annual Report of the National Preventive Mechanism | OMBUDSMAN OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA