Minister Pledges New Education Act, Substantial Increase in Teacher Salaries
Minister Todor Tanev has pledged a new Education Act instead of patchy amendments and insertions to the existing one.
The Members of the Bulgarian Parliament rejected Wednesday the proposal of the opposition Coalition for Bulgaria to appoint a special committee to investigate alleged violations of the high-school exit exam.
The move came on the heels of numerous media reports last Friday that the exam’s themes, questions and answers have been traded for BGN 600, citing high-school seniors, parents and teachers.
According to the reports, around 11 pm on the night before the exam, a lecturer from the University of Sofia, who also gave private lessons to students, sent them a short text message (SMS) with the 3 possible versions of the State exam. One of them had been drawn out on the morning of the test. It remains unclear if the versions in the remaining 2 envelopes match the ones from the SMS.
Education Minister, Sergey Ignatov, said Saturday he is not at all worried about the matriculation’s security, adding he stayed with his experts late into the night Friday to discuss how the CDs with the exam’s themes could have been hacked and reached conclusion this would be highly impossible.
Ignatov, who is not rejecting the possibility the allegations have the goal to discredit him over the controversial education and Bulgarian Academy of Sciences reforms, further stated that regardless of the outcome of the police probe, the exam would not be annulled and rescheduled.
On Wednesday, Ignatov's Deputy – Milka Kodzhabashieva, reiterated the Ministry's probe had not revealed anything alarming. Talks were held with all 5 employees, who had access to the exam, and they did not reveal any violations.
Kodzhabshieva, however, pointed out the Ministry is anticipating the results of the separate police investigation, but explained she had not yet been questioned, despite the fact she would be the first person who will need to offer explanations.
The Bulgarian government has approved sweeping amendments to the Preschool and School Education Act
The government has approved changes to the regulations on university admissions, declaring the “nurse” and “midwife” programs as protected specialties
Dozens of schools across Bulgaria have had ties to pro-Russian organizations or have taken part in initiatives supported by Russian institutions
This summer marks a shift in how Sofia approaches care for its youngest citizens
Pampov also shared his perspective on the potential introduction of a weekly class on virtues and religion in the Bulgarian school curriculum
Sofia Municipality is implementing a transportation plan for high school graduates and exam supervisors (quæstors) during the state matriculation exams on May 21 and 23, 2025
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