Teteven Municipality has invested over BGN 5.5 million in educational infrastructure in recent years, Mayor Madlena Boyadzhieva said during a local conference held here on Monday. The event was part of BTA’s Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project.
“I think that education is a priority for every municipality and this has been the case for a long time. The very fact that the majority of the municipalities’ budget goes to education, concretely about 60% of the funds for activities delegated by the state, means that this is also a state goal, not only of the local government,” Boyadzhieva pointed out.
She noted that no matter how insufficient financial resources are, municipalities always find an opportunity to improve the material base of the educational infrastructure, emphasizing that the two large secondary schools in Teteven Municipality have been completely renovated with European funds. Kindergartens throughout the municipality have also been renovated with European funds and a number of energy efficiency measures will be implemented as well, including the construction of local solar systems, she stated.
Boyadzhieva pointed out that almost all schools in the municipality have had their roofs replaced, and sports fields have also been renovated. However, she raised the question of whether what is being done is enough and whether the educational process itself is at the desired level, pointing out that maybe things in the educational system should change somehow from memorizing certain facts to acquiring skills.
"Statistics indicate that our children are in last place in the PISA ranking, which is precisely what measures whether students can apply the knowledge and skills acquired in school in real life," she stressed, adding that children and young people are desired who, leaving the education system, can adapt to real life. "In this sense, I think that we all need to work more with the state and local authorities, maybe the educational system should not be so encapsulated, but to open up to community centres, libraries, and many more,” the mayor said.
Vocational education is extremely important, she emphasized, adding that in both vocational high schools in the municipality there is dual training, with the Teteven Municipality also being an employer under these dual training contracts. "I think that the communication that should exist between local authorities, schools, and employers in the field of vocational education is extremely important so that employers can have qualified people working for them," Boyadzhieva concluded.
BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project aims to raise public awareness and foster open dialogue about cohesion policy, local achievements, and the implementation of the EU's policy priorities. The project kicked off with a conference in Veliki Preslav in November 2024. The schedule of conferences until the end of September 2025 includes events in the following cities: Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kazanlak, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Razgrad, Ruse, Samokov, Svishtov, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Stara Zagora, Troyan, Targovishte, Haskovo, Shumen, and Yambol. Cross-border conferences will be held in Belgrade, Bosilegrad, Bucharest, Edirne, Skopje, and Thessaloniki. The project builds on the Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future and Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future projects, implemented by BTA in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
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