The general level of Bulgarian high school used to be much higher. Now the graduates are largely semi-literate. This was said in the program “This Saturday“ by historian Prof. Petar Stoyanovich.
After the results came out, it turned out that these are the highest results since the introduction of the matriculation exam in 2008 so far.
“We cannot have become more skillful, smarter and more prepared overnight, because we know the state of our secondary education. It is very far from the level of a well-prepared citizen of Europe and the world“, commented Prof. Stojanovic.
According to him, either the complexity has been reduced, or the results have been made better through administrative means. “A year or two or three ago, the results were so catastrophic that the then rulers were on the verge of a nervous breakdown – and rightly so“.
“If there was an objective measurement of knowledge and preparation, the gigantic differences between the big cities, the former district cities and the villages would be visible“, he believes.
Prof. Stojanovic shared that he goes to meetings and sees how everyone in the matriculation exams in the villages has almost a 6. “Half of these people do not know Bulgarian, but have excellent grades in literature“.
100 papers were canceled during the matriculation exams because of absolutely identical texts in the free answer. “They are preparing to be deputies, probably, so that they are always unanimous“, joked Prof. Stojanovic.
“If the educational authorities want to stop copying, they can do it. I have been through a military commission and I know that they can always look where no one expects. Good intentions sometimes excuse poor performance, as William Shakespeare said“, he commented.
According to him, the problem is different. “This young man will get a diploma tomorrow and will operate on you. And he will sew your leg under your arm“.
“If a person gets a diploma formally - fine. The point is that later we rely on him as a specialist to represent the country to the world“, explained the historian.
According to him, there is no problem in strengthening the measures. “If we catch them, we should deprive them of their school rights, maybe send them back to first grade. If a person knows that his head will fall off when he lies, he won't do it. I'm for much harsher measures“.
“It's the same as with criminals who do night races, drive without a license, on six beers and a little white. As long as we pat them on the head and look for lawyers for them – that's how it will be“, he believes.
According to him, the checks have now intensified, but the first week after a report is always like that. “On the eighth day, there's no one left. Even if World War III starts on Monday – on Saturday and Sunday, they'll forget about it“.
Prof. Stojanovic also commented on the fact that the unions do not want to have a national external assessment after the 4th and 10th grades.
“The plus is in three directions: first - the cost of blood pressure pills for parents and grandmothers increases. Second - visits to a psychologist increase, because the child is like in a trap. Third - the state is deluding itself that it increases knowledge through these exams. I do not see a need for an NBE, there could simply be control and class work“, he explained.
“Years ago, when I went to study in Europe with a diploma from Sofia - almost an excellent matriculation exam, in Vienna they could not believe it. And I had not even appeared, things were taken as an arithmetic average. It's just that the systems in different countries are different“, he added.