A good balance must be found between traditional methods and new technologies, which allow for much easier adaptation of teaching to the individual profile of each student. This will be a difficult, slow process, but in education things cannot happen overnight. The point is that we are already starting to voice the problems out loud, and when we formulate them, we will also find solutions. This was said by Minister of Education and Science Prof. Georgi Valchev in Varna, where he is visiting to participate in an International Scientific Conference on Economics, Business and Management, which is taking place today and tomorrow at the University of Economics.
Technologies cannot remain out of the field of vision of the Bulgarian school, so very soon we will offer models by which every teacher can, without too much effort, integrate both artificial intelligence and various electronic resources with which to teach children. The question is to find the balance, because you see that even leading countries that were accepted as a model in education, such as Finland, Sweden, Norway, which initially relied entirely on electronic resources, are beginning to rethink this approach, the minister said, adding that the additional qualification of teachers will also change.
According to him, currently 18 percent of teachers in Bulgaria are up to the age of 35, and this is a consequence of the increased interest in the profession after the introduction of policies for better pay in the field of education. The qualities of the students who apply are also better, he added, expressing the opinion that the process will continue in the coming years, since the ministry supports training in these specialties.
Minister Valchev believes that the key to retaining students' interest in the educational process in universities is the combination of new technologies, digital resources and laying the foundations of fundamental knowledge. Fragmented knowledge is extremely accessible nowadays, but if a student does not receive basic training, he will be informed, but not knowledgeable and capable, he pointed out.
In secondary education, new curricula should become a reality in 2029, in which the information-overloaded regime will be lightened, Valchev also announced. They are the basis on which the new content and new textbooks will be created. The way textbooks are written must be changed, which is too complicated for students, as concepts from secondary education are being removed. We will also make the expert teams that are preparing the changes in the new curricula visible so that this process cannot take place in the dark, he pointed out.
In his words, these are reforms that fundamentally change education and must be made thoughtfully and followed by control to see whether the solutions work in practice. It is important for him that the state returns the family as an ally of the school, because otherwise no results will be achieved. There are many organizations that claim to represent parents, but according to the minister, it is not clear how many of them are such, so the conversation will be mainly directed at the parent boards. In the next year, all districts in the country will be visited and meetings will be held with teachers, principals, and representatives of the parent boards in order to find good solutions, explained Valchev.
He believes that educational functions have long been denied in our modern school, and they are an indispensable part of the system, so the state is trying to find good solutions again. We are working together with the ministries of the interior, health, labor, and social policy. I hope there will also be changes in the legislation that will help improve the behavior of both families and students, said Valchev.
Regarding the transition to a single-shift regime in schools in the country, he believes that it is realistic for this to happen by 2030, with programs for additional construction and renovation of premises continuing after 2027. This is a problem that must be solved jointly by local and central authorities, said the minister.