site.btaBulgaria Has Achieved Much, OECD Will Support Its Reform in Education - PISA Founder

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Director for Education and Skills, Andreas Schleicher, said that Bulgaria is making an important reform in education aimed at developing competences and has the support of the OECD. Schleicher was speaking at a meeting with Bulgarian Minister of Education and Science Galin Tzokov and his team at the Education Ministry. The PISA founder is visiting Bulgaria for the first time, at the invitation of Tzokov, to confer both with representatives of state institutions and with school principals, teachers, and students, the press service of Tzokov’s Ministry said on Monday.

The Education Minister briefed Schleicher on the history and specificities of the Bulgarian education system.

"What you have achieved in education serves as a good basis for change aimed at imparting not only knowledge in schools but also skills," Schleicher said. He gave the innovations implemented in many Bulgarian schools as a positive example. In Schleicher’s words, it is important that these good practices are introduced in as many schools as possible. "You are starting an important transition, and it is crucial that schools feel involved and the people on the front line are engaged and provided with the necessary tools," Schleicher said. "The change in the assessment format is a very important step, and we congratulate you for taking it," he said, referring to the changes to the Bulgarian national external assessment format that are being prepared.

Schleicher stressed that schools can be successful when they involve parents, and competency-based education has proven effective in making that happen. The OECD representative highlighted some good examples of countries around the world that have succeeded in implementing the reform.

Following his meeting with the Education Ministry’s team, Schleicher presented PISA findings and discussed important education-related topics with representatives of regional education departments, trade unions and employers' organizations, and pedagogy faculties.

One of the findings is that students study a lot, but they do not always acquire competencies. "Learning should be interesting and engaging for young people. Our societies are changing," Schleicher said.

The meeting was attended by Yanka Takeva, head of the Bulgarian Union of Teachers with the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, Diyan Stamatov, Chair of the Union of Managers in the Public Education System, Assen Aleksandrov, Chair of the Association of Directors in Secondary Education in Bulgaria, and MPs of Parliament’s Committee on Education and Science.