Evgenya Peeva: I long to see every child with access to high-quality education

published on 11/25/13 10:10 AM

Photo: private archive

She admits work is her passion, and that at times it takes over her life entirely. Her wish is to make use of her experience and knowledge to change other people’s lives. And she succeeds. At age 28, Evgenya Peeva is already holder of the prestigious Forbes, Bulgaria award for young and inspiring leader in the sphere of education. Last year she was among the top 100 influential women in Bulgaria. For three years she has been CEO of the NGO Teach for Bulgaria, set up at the initiative and with the financial support of the America for Bulgaria foundation. The aim is to ensure that every child in the country has access to high-quality education by encouraging ambitious young people to become motivation teachers and leaders within the system of education. Evgenya has graduated at one of the world’s most prestigious universities – Harvard. She describes herself as someone who never gives up her goals and believes that everything is possible. This helps her face any challenge and stand up to the skepticism many expressed at the start of Teach for Bulgaria. Her Harvard diploma opened up an ocean of opportunities but she chose to return to Bulgaria and dedicate herself to the cause of ensuring that each child receives a good education.

“I have tried out this ocean, but have come to the conclusion that education is where my energy and my efforts can yield the best results. Even more so in Bulgaria where I grew up, which I know so well and where my abilities can be put to best use to promote ideas. The motive force of any economy and any society is the human factor which is highly dependent on education,” Evgenya says. ”What is wrong with education in this country is that it does not prepare children for real life.”

“There is no time to lose if we want to start changing the present of the Bulgarian system of education. Because it is these changes that will then change society and boost the economy. What we at Teach for Bulgaria think should be done is, first and foremost to define very clearly the end product education should provide schoolchildren with. And it does not only involve knowledge or grades, what really matters are the skills children acquire that will help them make a professional choice in life. This involves their ability to set their goals, plan how to achieve them, find their way in the ocean of information we all have access to nowadays and make a judgment what will be useful to them. So, first comes the clear vision what we want the children to achieve. Secondly, bringing the training of the teachers up to the standard needed to attain this vision. The good news is that international experience has shown that changes in the education system, when they are streamlined, take a very short time to put through. The results can be improved considerably in a mere six years. Such examples are to be seen in Shanghai and Singapore, which made good progress within a short space of time, and this not by increasing financing but by rearranging their priorities.”

One of the objectives of Teach for Bulgaria is to restore the prestige of the teaching profession and show that it is of utmost importance to society:

“One of the most rewarding things in our profession is to see these incredible young people and their courage in becoming teachers and leaders under the programme. They are to a great extent emotional, as the atmosphere they are living in is not very positive or supportive,” Evgenya says. “So it is really inspiring to see the teachers taking part in the programme continue their fight to help their students make progress. “
In the brief time since its launch, the Teach for Bulgaria programme has yielded good results. Underprivileged children and children with serious gaps in their education have made up for this within a year or two. “We have several children from small towns and villages who were admitted to elite universities in this country and abroad. Others obtained scholarships or have taken part in exchange programmes,” Evgenya says. In her words what motivates children most is the opening up of new horizons. As to herself, she admits that she loves being outdoors. “Nature is what charges my batteries so that I can cope with the everyday strain.” But some of Evgenya’s dreams are again connected with her work: “I long to see, one day, every child with access to high-quality education, so that together, as a community, we can all be happier and more successful together.”

English version: Milena Daynova

По публикацията работи: Rumyana Tsvetkova

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Evgenya Peeva: I long to see every child with access to high-quality education

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