Teachers in Bulgaria are ready for effective strike action if the state does not guarantee salaries in the amount of 125% of the average gross salary, reports Bulgaria ON AIR. On the air of the television, the chairman of the "Education" union at the "Podkrepa" trade union, Dr. Yulian Petrov, warned that the lack of adequate funding in the new budget will lead to serious social tension.
The unions insist that the state allocate 6% of GDP for the needs of the education system. According to representatives of the industry, the measures so far do not cover the real needs of teachers against the background of the economic situation.
"5% was not an increase, but compensation for inflation. It is good that this happened. But we are looking at the new budget and the money for education. If these 125% are not there, this could be grounds for strikes and protests", commented Dr. Yulian Petrov.
The lack of long-term financial incentives leads to the impossibility of retaining young specialists in the classrooms. The chairman of the union emphasizes that the horizon for better education lies entirely in the hands of politicians.
"The system currently cannot retain them. The question is to retain the best teachers, to retain the young ones. The Bulgarian teacher is between a rock and a hard place, he will not last long", warns the unionist.
The issue of the effectiveness of the National External Evaluation (NEO) is also on the agenda. The branch organization defines exams after the fourth and tenth grades as unnecessary stress that does not bring real benefit and feedback for the Ministry of Education and Science.
"External assessment after the fourth and tenth grades is meaningless. This is a statistic from which the Ministry of Education and Science does not learn a lesson. There should be a barrier as early as the first grade: does this child have social or language deficits", Dr. Petrov is categorical.
He adds that the current model punishes children who do well, since the educational pace in the class often takes into account students experiencing serious difficulties and lack of preparation in the family environment.