The proposal of the political party “There is such a people” for ministers of education and Roma affairs
A day after the snap parliamentary elections, the leader of the party “There is such a people”(abbreviated ITN) Slavi Trifonov announced his proposal for a Council of Ministers, headed by Prime Minister Nikolay Vassilev. Natalia Miteva has been nominated for Minister of Education, and the ministry will be renamed the Ministry of Education, Innovation and Science. The proposal to have a minister without a portfolio on Roma Affairs is completely innovative, and Dr. Antonia Valentinova has been proposed for this position. Among the proposed priorities of the new government are those that are directly related to education. Who are they?
Although it is unclear whether the proposed government will be approved and how long it will last, the Amalipe Center has received numerous questions from colleagues and journalists about the proposed ministers of education and Roma issues. Since we had the opportunity to work together with Natalia Miteva and Dr. Antonia Valentinova, we enclose brief information. Once again, we clarify that the Amalipe Center is a non-governmental organization and is not related to the activities of any of the political parties.
The nominated Minister of Education Natalia Miteva is a long-time director of the educational program of the America for Bulgaria Foundation “Good Education and Work Skills”. As such, she has been active in some of the well-known to teachers and principals programs aimed at forming school leaders and establishing STEM centers. Natalia Miteva holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Maryland in the United States and specializes in Impact Assessment at the World Bank’s Assessment Department (International Program for Development Evaluation Training). She is part of the international investment community for social impact at the Oxford Impact Investing Program’s business department.
It became clear that it was initially proposed to the Minister of Education by the caretaker government Prof. Nikolay Denkov to continue to hold this post. He refused, as did Ministers Asen Vassilev and Kiril Petkov. In a statement published on the website of the Ministry of Education and Science, the reason for the refusal was explained by “We are convinced that the strategy for economic development and education is directly related to the vision of public finance priorities. We held talks with ITN at their invitation. In the course of the talks, it was seen that ITN and the economic team of the caretaker government have significant differences in their visions for financial policy and the main tasks in the coming period. In addition, ITN offered the current caretaker Minister of Finance, Asen Vassilev, a ministerial post in another ministry.
That is why all three of us decided that it would be better for the future government to have a team that shares the vision of the Prime Minister and the holder of the mandate for the financial policy of the state.
Thanks to ITN for the suggestions! We wish success to the future government! “
Dr. Antonia Valentinova is an example of the heights that well-educated and energetic young Roma can reach. She grew up in an integrated Roma
family, which has always supported her good education. At the insistence of her mother, she attended a school with a predominant number of students from the majority and thus received the quality education and motivation typical of desegregated schools. She was admitted simultaneously to three medical universities – in Sofia, Pleven and Varna, with a very high score. She chooses to study in the capital. For her preparation for the exams Antonia receives assistance from the scholarship program for medical students and doctors of Roma origin – an initiative of the Roma Healthcare Project – Budapest, a scholarship program of the Roma Education Fund and the Open Society Institute with partners Amalipe Center and the Promedia Foundation.
The project aims to support the higher education of students of Roma origin, who have chosen the specialties of medicine, pharmacy, obstetrics, radiology and rehabilitation, health management. As a result, more than two hundred Roma boys and girls successfully complete difficult medical specialties. It is significant that currently the vast majority of them work as active medics in Bulgaria and a very small number have emigrated. The stories of the students from the Program can be read here.
Dr. Valentinova graduated from the Medical University in Sofia with a grade of 5.25.
If the ITN government is approved, Dr. Valentinova will be a minister without a portfolio on Roma affairs. Until now, such a post did not exist and a Roma was not elected to a ministerial post – Roma existed only as deputy ministers in two of the governments, one of which was caretaker government. The minister without wallet usually does not have deputies, a budget and an administration, and his specific powers are determined by the prime minister.
The program of the proposed government includes goals related to education:
- Construction of the required number of kindergartens
- Purchase up to 1 million tablets and laptops for all students and teachers
- For the time being, there are no goals in the program related to the educational integration of the Roma community.