Minister: Staggering Discrepancy in Bulgarian Middle School Education

Bulgaria's Education Minister Sergey Ignatov vows to complete the long-awaited education system reform. Photo by BGNES

There is an urgent need for public discussion and reform of the school system, according to Bulgarian Education Minister Sergey Ignatov.

Ignatov spoke about the new draft High School Education Act saying that if adopted, it would alter things in Bulgaria’s education that have not been changed in 50 years.

Under the new law, a middle school diploma would be acquired after 7th grade, not after 8th grade as it is at present; in addition, the high-school education will be divided in two levels – 8th-10th grade and 11th-12th grade. The latter will be for students seeking to apply to universities, whereas the former – for those focusing on vocational training.

Minister Ignatov said his ministry was hoping to introduce all-day classes for all students from 1st to 7th grade but because of the technical difficulties this will first be done for all kids from 1st to 4th grade.

“According to international tests, Bulgarian four-graders are among the students of the 5-6 countries with top achievements in terms of level of education. Then, suddenly, in the 8th grade, it turns out that Bulgarian kids fall in the ignorance category because they are no longer required to read texts but to interpret and comment,” Minister Ignatov pointed.

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