The Education and Science Ministry has four priorities for the following three months until the caretaker government is replaced by a regular one after snap elections, Minister Nikolai Denkov told a news conference on Monday. The first priority is successful completion of the school year, which includes state matriculation exams, national external assessment (standardized testing) and secondary school admission exams.

Second, the ministry will make necessary preparations for the next school year based on an in-depth analysis of the results of
 online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and the problems of early school leaving and delayed study, Denkov explained. A
package of measures will be proposed for implementation by the next Education Ministry.

The third priority is higher education. The map of higher education in Bulgaria will be completed by adding an analytical
part, Denkov said.

Finally, the education and research initiatives in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and a number of programmes will be
reviewed.

Deputy Education and Science Minister Maria Gaidarova will be in  charge of all activities related to the school network, the
completion of the current school year and the preparations for the next one. Deputy Minister Evgenia Peeva will be responsible
for the analysis of school education and for international activities. Higher education is in the portfolio of Deputy Minister Genka Petrova. Scientific research is a responsibility of Deputy Minister Neli Kosseva.

Asked by a journalist when students will go back to in-person classes once and for all, Denkov replied that all matters related to the school network are being discussed between the ministry, its social partners (government and trade unions) and the health ministry, and when they arrive at a definitive decision, they will announce it. At present, older students are taking turns studying in person and from home, and those from first to fourth grade have in-person learning as their only option. BTA