Changes in the school education forseen by the National Programme for Development of Education

"School Attendance to Become Compulsory until 10th Grade" headlines an item in "Sega" which covers a national programme for the development of education until 2015, approved by the Parliament.

Under the programme, 7th grade, and not 8th grade, will be the last grade of primary education in Bulgaria. National examinations will be held at the end of 4th, 7th and 10th grade, with 7th-grade exams serving as high-school entrance exams, and 10th-grade exams allowing students to switch schools. In the 11th and 12th grade, students will get specialized education in specified areas.

Interviewed by "Troud," Education and Science Minister Daniel Vulchev says university management deserves serious discussion. "Higher schools are public institutions," he reasons. "Therefore, we should seriously consider the possibility of following the example of other countries in terms of public involvement in academic practice. This can be accomplished either through people who have graduated from the respective universities, through employers, through public opinion leaders, or through more active participation of the students themselves. The opening up of higher schools to the public will add more substance to their functions."

Sources: Sega daily and BTA