A day after the high school graduates found out their matriculation results, the Ministry of Education also completed its analysis of this year's exams after the 12th grade, informs novini.bg.
The average grade of the first mandatory matriculation exam in Bulgarian language of the Class of 2024 was “good“ 4.32, and the success of the second exam - in an optional subject - – “very good“ 4.72.
At a briefing at the Ministry of Education, the relevant Minister Krasimir Valchev noted that the grades from the exam results are largely similar to previous years. He specified that one of the significant problems facing our education system is the lack of a mandatory matriculation exam in mathematics and natural sciences.
The only mandatory matriculation exam is in Bulgarian Language and Literature (BL), and the second is optional, which is why the results of the second matriculation exam are higher than the one in BEL, because there the student chooses the subject in which he feels strongest and most prepared, Minister Valchev told the media.
According to him,another leading problem is the low number of high school graduates who choose mathematics, physics or chemistry for their second matriculation exam.
„The lack of mathematicians, physicists and chemists poses a challenge to our engineering education and a number of important industries. I think that the results in mathematics and natural sciences should be improved. Because when we talk about the formation of skills, students perform poorly. We want to make students learn with understanding, not with memorization“, the Minister of Education also said.
Krassimir Valchev announced that the ministry he leads has started work on developing new curricula.
The idea is to present some small documents – concepts – for changes in all curricula, and more precisely in individual subjects. Yes, this is a slower algorithm, but we are convinced that this is the right path, he explained.
According to Valchev, another challenge is the educational structure, which has not been changed for nearly ten years and, according to him, it brings mostly negative results, because during this period it has not been reformed even once.
“The result in BEL is nearly one point lower. This is a normal deviation, which can be due to the nature and difficulty of the tasks. But for me, the fact that we gave up on the mandatory matriculation exam in mathematics is one of our biggest mistakes. If we want to prosper economically, we must have engineers“, the Minister of Education emphasized.