Position regarding the latest amendments to the Pre-school and School Education Act

TO

RAYA NAZARYAN CHAIRPERSON OF THE 50TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA

TO

SILVI KIRILOV CHAIRPERSON OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF THE 50TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA

TO THE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF THE 50TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA

TO THE CHAIRPERSONS OF THE PARLIAMENTARY GROUPS OF THE 50TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA

COPY TO PROF. GALIN TSOKOV MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

POSITION

We, the undersigned organisations, express our concern regarding what is currently happening in Bulgarian education, prompted by the recent amendments to the Law on Pre-School and School Education, and insist that dialogue be restored with employer and business organisations and other stakeholders in the adoption of legislation in the field of education.

We are alarmed that instead of the urgent reforms with a vision for years ahead, changes are being proposed and adopted that substitute the important educational agenda, do not support teachers, and direct public attention towards topics that drain the energy needed for meaningful change.

Against the backdrop of the amendments to the LPSSE adopted within days, for years Bulgarian education has been unable to implement key reforms that we as employer organisations also advocate, including:

• Raising the quality of initial training and continuing professional development of teachers and headteachers;
• Developing educational standards, curricula and national external assessments with a new philosophy oriented towards developing skills and competencies, rather than rote memorisation and reproduction of subject knowledge;
• Developing, piloting, introducing and effectively applying a quality standard in education that includes a value-added system for schools;
• Guaranteeing greater autonomy, resources and support for schools, while also requiring them to take responsibility for pupil outcomes;
• Rigorous and professional selection of teachers and headteachers based on the competencies required for the profession;
• Objective and fair assessment of the work of teachers and headteachers based on results, not administrative requirements;
• Increasing the share of GDP allocated to education and effectively managing all national and external investments in the field of education;
• Developing a mechanism for financing educational institutions in pre-school and school education that takes into account the quality of the educational service provided;
• Raising the digital skills of all pupils and young people in view of the demographic challenges facing Bulgaria and the accelerating pace of digitalisation across all professions;
• Regular review and flexibility in updating the list of professions and professional fields, examination and assessment programmes, and policies for the awarding of microcredentials and professional qualifications;
• Forming, implementing and evaluating education and training policies based on data and research and oriented towards results.

In this context, we are extremely concerned that the adopted amendments to the Law on Pre-School and School Education create the impression of a lack of political will to address the real and long-delayed reforms in education, which have been the subject of active public debate for years.

Our commitment to Bulgarian education is long-term and over the years we have worked in constructive collaboration with the responsible institutions on key topics and reforms. Our representatives participate in numerous working groups, sectoral and advisory councils at the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, the Ministry of Innovation and Growth, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Electronic Governance and other institutions, within which proposals for changes to legislative and other regulatory frameworks are discussed with the participation of various stakeholders.

Our members are among the largest employers in the country. They carry out their activities in industries with high added value and a knowledge economy. These industries cannot develop without quality education in Bulgaria. Our companies support hundreds of initiatives in Bulgarian education, invest in activities and projects in secondary and higher education, partner with institutions, donate funds for better physical and technical infrastructure, and contribute to relevant and practically oriented content, including through the involvement of professionals from the field in teaching and training.

At the same time, pupil results clearly demonstrate the serious problems in Bulgarian education that require urgent reforms, possible only through the achievement of broad public and political consensus.

The proposed amendments to the LPSSE, adopted in such a short timeframe, were not part of the public consultation process and were not the subject of discussions in working groups with the participation of employer and business organisations and other stakeholders. They also led to an escalation of public tension on topics related to education. In this context, it is of concern to us that the cross-sectoral partnership in the policy-making process is being called into question and that civil, employer and business organisations are being excluded from the possibility of participating in dialogue on topics related to changes in key educational legislation.

We insist that this dialogue be restored and that steps be taken to implement the long-awaited reforms for which public consensus has been reached.

We once again call for a cross-party consensus on the important reforms that will move our country forward and will give young people in Bulgaria real opportunities to realise their potential not only as successful professionals, but also as happy citizens of our society.

Yours sincerely,

Association for Innovation, Business Services and Technologies (AIBEST)

Bulgarian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA)

Bulgarian Association of Communication Agencies (BACA)

Bulgarian Public Relations Association (BAPRA)

Bulgarian Association of Software Companies (BASKOM)

Bulgarian Entrepreneurial Association (BESCO)

Bulgarian Fintech Association

Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce

Professional Association for Robotics, Automation and Innovation (PARAi)

Association for Modern Trade

Business Women's Council in Bulgaria

Bulgarian Cluster for Digital Solutions and Innovations in Healthcare (DHI Cluster)

IAB Bulgaria