Minister of Education and Science Prof. Georgi Valchev defended the idea of having one textbook each for Bulgarian language and literature, history and geography. He commented on the proposal at a meeting of Parliament’s Education and Science Committee.
The idea was announced by Prime Minister Rumen Radev on September 15. During the meeting, MP Pavel Popov of “Democratic Bulgaria” asked whether international experience with introducing a similar model had been studied.
Final decisions are still pending
Valchev stressed that there is still no decision on exactly how the system will be organised. In his words, no new textbook is currently being created, and such a procedure could begin after the adoption of new curricula and concepts.
The minister said that discussions with publishers, the academic community and teachers are forthcoming. The aim is to select the most suitable model and clarify the mechanisms for the competition and the assessment of textbooks.
“There is no eternal textbook, there are no eternal truths, because the world is developing,” Georgi Valchev said.He explained that competitions should be held periodically so that the content can be updated with new sources, theories and interpretations. According to him, this is particularly important for subjects such as history.
The minister pointed to a risk of corruption
Valchev also defended the proposal with an argument related to the way funding for textbooks is allocated. According to him, the current model, involving several approved textbooks for a single subject and the selection of one of them, creates a greater risk of corruption.
“If you look at next year’s budget, distributing more than 70 million without clear criteria, without clear rules, creates a much greater risk of corruption for me than a clear procedure that would genuinely allow creative teams to compete and the best textbook among them to be selected,” the minister said.
Valchev rejected interpretations that the idea aims for the state to impose a single point of view. “I have read all kinds of things: that I would turn it into a Ministry of Truth, that we want to totalise the country. That is far from the idea concerning the single textbook,” he said.
Discussions are expected to continue before final decisions are made on the subjects, deadlines and method for selecting the textbooks.
Sources: bnrnews.bg, dnes.bg