site.btaBulgarian, Romanian Education Ministers Discuss Ways to Improve Teacher Training

The need to strengthen hands-on education, qualifications and teacher training from the very beginning was in the focus of a meeting between Minister of Education and Science Galin Tsokov and his Romanian counterpart Ligia Deca in Bucharest, Tsokov’s ministry said on Thursday. Minister Tsokov is in Romania to participate in the first forum of the initiative of the Ministry of Education and Science under the national programme "The Untold Stories of the Bulgarians".

"We are reviewing the training of future teachers at universities, and we intend to change it - to make it more competence-oriented and linked to practice," Minister Tsokov said. The option was discussed of creating laboratories - a type of innovative schools - at some universities to combine theoretical with practical training. The two officials also talked about the qualifications needed for teachers and agreed to exchange experiences and good practices in this area.

For her part, Minister Deca explained that with the start of the new school year, Romania has introduced a compulsory one-year master's degree for teachers, with 80% of the time spent in the classroom.

The two also discussed the changes needed in the preparation and assessment of children in Bulgaria and Romania in order for them to score higher in international tests such as PISA. Other topics included STEM pedagogy and the development of a STEM school environment, the use of electronic resources, and inclusion of at-risk children.

The ministers concurred that it would be useful for experts from the two countries to more actively share best practices and collaborate in various forms to improve the quality of education.