We are not sure whether the epidemic situation will not be more complicated in the autumn – this would create organisational difficulties in terms of applying to higher education, especially in foreign ones. This was commented by the Minister of Education Krasimir Valchev. According to him, most countries have decided to end the school year in July at the latest.
„Some have decided to finish without exams, others are at the other extreme – to finish in person or in part. We were rather cautious, health is most important. As the Minister of Education, I want the children to return much more, because the interaction in the classroom is indispensable from the point of view of socialization and the acquisition of harmonious knowledge and skills. But still the situation is like that”, added Minister Valchev.
The school year has been saved and there are no losses, he added, adding that a certain percentage of children have dropped out, but this was an annual challenge. Minister Valchev reported that children from families with a mixed attitude to education, with educational deficits in our country are 10% – 20% per year. Between 10% and 11% did not participate effectively in e-learning, and between 1 and 2% were not covered at all. 14 percent did not complete school education at all. The biggest dropout was after 7th and 8th grade.
“There are bigger fluctuations in the commercial sites and in the kindergartens, because they have many hours of daily interaction of children in groups. As for the exams, this is a one-time return for one or two exams with strict distance measures. Students, especially older students, these measures can be provided, especially when it comes to an interval of 4-5-6 hours. We will do this during the exams. The schools were closed for almost 2 and a half months. They are disinfected weekly, in this sense they are a much safer environment than visiting a store. Otherwise, we have students who find it very difficult to motivate them to study every year.”
The Minister of Education is of the opinion that COVID-19 is still among us and again called on parents who have the opportunity not to let their children go to kindergarten because they are interacting within the group.
Minister Valchev congratulates on May 24. He noted that the holiday has always carried that positive charge of education, the Bulgarian spirit, the Bulgarian culture. The system initiates „May holidays“ – students and schools organize celebrations in an electronic environment. These are most often concerts, exhibitions, initiatives, which are held on the occasion of May 24.
“Bulgarian teachers deserve to be applauded. They showed that they are reactive, responsible in this short period of time, when the system had to be completely reorganized and move to e-learning. Every profession deserves respect, but the teaching profession is the basis of all others, because if we have good teachers, we will have good specialists for all other professions”, said also Valchev.
