site.btaEducation Ministry, UNICEF to Cooperate in Support of Bulgarian Pupils, Teachers

Bulgarian Education and Science Minister Galin Tsokov and UNICEF Representative in Bulgaria Christina de Bruin on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in support of Bulgarian Pupils and Teachers, Tsokov's Ministry said in a press release.

Under the Memorandum, the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) and the international organization will implement joint policy related to early childhood education and care, ensuring equal access to quality education, ensuring a secure school environment, and helping pupils to unleash their potential. The parties to the document will assist school teams and professional educators in applying means for complementing and alternative communication for children with special educational needs.

MES and UNICEF will also cooperate in the prevention of early school leaving. The organization will be supporting the effective functioning of the Mechanism for joint work of institutions for coverage and inclusion in the educational system of compulsory pre-school and school age children and pupils. Support will be provided to an improvement of the information system for implementation of the Mechanism. The cooperation will also cover identifying the reasons affecting the risk of dropping out of, or non-coverage by, the system and planning effective measures, along with capacity building for the coverage teams, the press release explained.

A mentor support network is to be set up, targeting schools that introduce a comprehensive approach to a positive and secure school environment, building on the experience of a joint programme titled "Steps Together towards a School Without Violence". The objectives of that network include developing and strengthening pupil participatory mechanisms and promotion of pupil self-governance. Support is expected for innovative participation forms and platforms, for cooperation in data gathering and analyzing the activities of pupils' councils, and building schoolchildren's participation and advocacy skills.