Earlier this week, Bulgarian Minister of Education Prof. Todor Tanev presented to journalists part of the reforms that he and his team have been preparing. Among them is the creation of four-level educational system which will provide for the opening of integrated vocational colleges. They will make a connection between secondary and higher education through two stages of training, each lasting two years. The first provides a master degree, while the second - a manager’s degree. This way students will gain professional knowledge and experience necessary for their future career success. Young people who would like to continue their education at universities will be able to do so after passing the matriculation exam, compulsory for secondary education graduates. According to Prof. Tanev, experts working in the field of education, science and the labor market must join forces. This will provide jobs for graduates. In the very beginning of his term in office the minister identified his main goals. One of them is increasing the role of arts in education. Let us recall that Professor Tanev is the son of famous and respected Bulgarian composer and longtime professor at the National Academy of Music Prof. Alexander Tanev. That is why such a statement is not a surprise. Here is more from the minister in an interview for Radio Bulgaria:
 
"There is no doubt that studying art is no less important than other subjects. This is one of five tasks that I set for myself. Even when I was a student I felt that music was of secondary importance in the curriculum. This is not right. Students are taught chemistry, physics, etc. in a very detailed manner and we not necessarily choose these professions. In western countries there are musical instruments in every house. People play in family setting, regardless of their profession. I am convinced that playing music develops personality. Bulgaria is a small country but the variety of music is incredible, like it is a whole continent. We have the Shop region with its characteristic songs and next to it the completely different music of the Pirin region, the Rhodopes, Dobrudzha, etc. This is a whole cosmos of different music ideas with one thing in common – they are all Bulgarian. And it was all replaced by chalga, which is not folk music, but was deliberately called folk. Yes, I know that some make money from it, but millions lose their spiritual values. Which is more important? As education minister I want students to have more knowledge about the value of music. " 
 
Priority of the Ministry is combating violence in schools, which in recent years has acquired frightening dimensions.
 
 "Violence must be reduced to levels that are as low as possible. But we should not forget that it goes hand in hand with other, no less important problems. We have stopped talking about the harm caused by drugs. Illegal drugs become more accessible, less expensive and more harmful. So in May we organize a series of conferences together with various ministries. Together we will discuss how to protect not only the territory of the Bulgarian schools, but the space around it. Creating new school books is also imperative as we see the results of the current textbooks used. The new law on education needs to go through second reading. Then I could tell you more specific details. We should not forget the e-education. Half of the children self-educate themselves using the information provided by some web sites. Instead of reading books, they are looking for something shorter in the Internet. There is no control over the credibility of the information. In this respect, the state owes a lot to Bulgarian schools. Interactive methods of teaching must be introduced as soon as possible. We saw neighboring Turkey introduce a program for providing a tablet computer to each child and achieved a world record in computerization of the learning process. I do not oppose paper textbooks. They will always have their role and are not an alternative to electronic books, just like television cannot be an alternative to theater. But we have to improve and update our methods. I am very glad that the number of Bulgarian schools abroad is constantly growing. We do everything possible to facilitate their work. We send books, and financing. Electronic textbooks will find a very large application there and I believe they will solve the problem of the lack of textbooks for Bulgarians outside the country."

English: Alexander Markov