2024-04-16 08:30:02
For the first time, students who are unable to take a national external assessment due to a health problem requiring hospital stay, quarantine or isolation, as well as due to a death in the family, will have the opportunity to take the relevant exam on an additional date. “This is a long-awaited change in our education system,” emphasized the Acting Minister of Education and Science, Prof. Galin Tsokov, during a meeting with the heads of regional departments of education in the country, reports the press center of the ministry. The meeting was initiated to create an organization in the whole country for the upcoming national external assessments (NVO) and state matriculation exams (SMEs).
The state matriculation exam in Bulgarian language and literature will be held in over 750 schools in the country. To date, more than 51,000 high school seniors have submitted applications for participation in the first compulsory matriculation exam. In about 420 schools, the second compulsory DZI in a profiling subject will be held, and in nearly 220 schools – a state matriculation exam on request, it became clear during the meeting. This is reported by the press center of the ministry.
“One of the immediate tasks before the system is to organize and conduct the upcoming exams well and to motivate the students to show higher results,” said the minister. According to him, coordination is important and that is why he initiated the meeting in the first days of the office.
“Immediately after the issuance of the decree for the upcoming national and European elections, we made an organization so as to preserve the date of the national external assessment of Bulgarian language and literature in the 10th grade”, added Prof. Tsokov and explained that Higher education in Bulgarian language and literature in the 10th grade remains on June 10.
However, it is planned to be held at a later start time – at 11:00 a.m. instead of the originally scheduled start of 8:00 a.m., so that the schools with electoral sections can easily organize its holding.
For the first time, students who are unable to take a national external assessment due to a health problem requiring hospital stay, quarantine or isolation, as well as due to a death in the family, will have the opportunity to take the relevant exam on an additional date. The specific date for it will be determined based on the data from the submitted applications. “This is a long-awaited change in our educational system, and we must explain to the children as well as possible how and in what cases they can benefit from it,” emphasized Galin Tsokov.
Another new point is that the seventh graders will be given more time to work on the first part of the exams – so they will have 75 minutes instead of the traditional 60 minutes to work calmly and show their knowledge. In the math test, there will be two more multiple-choice questions instead of two fewer short-answer questions.
For the 10th grade, the BEL exam will include two tasks less, so that they have more time to think. For tenth graders, the exam will be more practical oriented to measure skills.
At the upcoming session of the DZI, for the first time, there will be an opportunity to retake the matriculation exam to improve the result. The opportunity was given by changes in the Law on School and Pre-School Education, and the assessment from this exam will be able to be used only when applying to a higher school. Those wishing to do so will have to submit a written application to the educational institution between April 24 and 26.
Competitions for school principals held for the first time in a completely different format were another main highlight of the minister’s discussion with the heads of regional education departments. He thanked them for the good organization. “It will be extremely important and useful for us to give an opinion regarding the challenges and how they can be improved in order to organize the next competitions even better,” said the minister. the new format measured not only knowledge of the legal framework, but also leadership qualities, thinking and decision-making skills, which in the long run will have a positive impact on the entire system.
Minister Tsokov announced that a broad discussion with the directors of schools on prepared important projects for documents – the quality framework and quality standard, changes in the rules for the activity of the regional administrations of education. Another document that will be discussed in the system is the vision for curriculum and assessment changes. These documents should be used to make changes to the Preschool and School Education Act when the new parliament is elected.