Minister Valchev opened the first STEM centers in Shumen and Zelena Moreva

Investments in educational infrastructure should be a priority in the coming years, while maintaining a gradual increase in teachers’ salaries to at least 125% of the average salary. STEM centers will be built in all schools. Educational mediators play a key role in working effectively with parents from vulnerable groups and their position will be continued and their pay will be increased. Schools in rural areas, including remote villages with a small number of students, are important for student retention and high quality education is possible. That is why in recent years I have not allowed the closure of such schools, as the optimization of the school network has reached its optimum almost everywhere. These were part of the messages of the Minister of Education Krassimir Valchev at the opening of STEM centers in schools in the town of Shumen and the village of Zelena Morava.

On February 26, Minister Valchev opened three newly built STEM centers. Two of them are in two of the schools in the network of the Amalipe Center Program “Every student will be an Excellent”. He first visited Traiko Simeonov High School in the town of Shumen, which is successfully fighting secondary segregation and attracting more and more children. Ms. Sakarova, director of the school, did not fail to share the benefits of the appointed three educational mediators, and the Minister replied that it has already been decided to have educational mediators in the next school year, and that their salaries will be increased.

“What I saw was a lot of creativity, innovation, a desire to do things differently. This is the way to motivate children to be in school, to study, and also to develop their interest in learning mathematics and physics in STEM centers. They have made a wonderful center, they have expanded it in the direction of the arts. I see that they are making efforts in terms of road safety, a very important policy that we have been relying on in recent years. ” – stated Minister Valchev. He also stressed that the help of non-governmental organizations and networking, such as the network of the “Every student will be an excellent student” program, has an important role in the success of the school.
After the visit to Shumen, Minister Valchev opened the STEM center of Hristo Botev Primary School in the village of Zelena Morava, which is the first for Targovishte District. He showed interest in the robots with which the center was equipped and which the students will revive and move by programming on a scratch. At the official opening, plaques were presented for contribution to the development of the school: to Minister Valchev, to the Head of the Regional Department of Education Targovishte Mrs. Stancheva, to the District Governor Mr. Staykov and to the Chairman of Amalipe Center Mr. Deyan Kolev. The official guests did not miss the cozy room in “Folklore of the ethnic groups”. The new centers are a place for learning, but also for conversation and socialization, for learning through experience and “doing”. What Minister Valchev also shared there was that the school will be helped to improve the material base, that nationally next year teachers’ salaries should be kept high in order to attract more young people and added that in recent years reports an increase in the number of candidate students for training in pedagogical specialties.