Young people and parliamentary candidates debated educational topics during the debate “My opinion matters”

Constructive and well-intentioned discussions on the future of education and youth policies took place during youth debates “My opinion matters” in Stara Zagora, Shumen and Veliko Tarnovo. The leaders of the lists of the five invited parties/coalitions – GERB-SDS, We continue the change – Democratic Bulgaria, BSP for Bulgaria, Movement for Rights and Freedoms and Bulgarian Rise, answered the questions of the youth, keeping to a constructive and tolerant tone, quite different from the parliamentary discussions and TV election debates. The youth events were organized by Center Amalipe and youth groups for tolerance and civic participation on 16 March, 22 March and 23 March. Which politicians participated and what did they promise to the youth?

The Youth Debates “My Opinion Matters” were organized at the regional level, inviting the leaders of the lists (or other candidates for MPs) of the parties and coalitions represented in the 48th National Assembly (excluding PP Revival). A sign of the attention with which those invited approached the talks with the youth was the fact that almost everywhere the leaders of the lists and leading politicians participated. In Stara Zagora, the youth were met with Krasimir Valchev (GERB – SDS), Georgi Gyokov (BSP for Bulgaria) and Yanitsa Gospodinova (We continue the change – Democratic Bulgaria). The debate in Shumen was with the participation of the leaders of the lists of BSP – Ivan Ivanov, Bulgarian Rise – prof. Sasho Evlogiev, We continue the change – Democratic Bulgaria – acad. Nikolay Denkov and GERB – Krasimir Valchev. Participants in the debate in Veliko Tarnovo were Denitsa Sacheva (GERB-SDS, the leader of the list Dr. Kostadin Angelov was also present in the room), Mastan Mastanov (Movement for Rights and Freedoms), Yordan Terziyski (We continue the change – Democratic Bulgaria) and Dr. Peycho Kasarov (Bulgarian Rise).

At the beginning of the debates the chairman of Center Amalipe Deyan Kolev pointed out that they are a continuation of the Intercultural Youth Academy for Citizenship and Tolerance, which gathered nearly 200 youth leaders (presidents of student parliaments, student mentors, etc.) in November 2022 in Dryanovo and Stara Zagora. He pointed out that the idea of the debate was based on 3 of the basic principles of modern representative democracy:

1. “We elect those who are in government not to govern us, but to govern on our behalf”: we therefore have the right to ask candidates for parliament what they think they should do on our behalf, and subsequently to periodically ask questions about how they manage on our behalf.
2. ‘Free mandate’: although elected from a particular region and a particular party, MPs represent all Bulgarian citizens from all regions. We can ask them about specific local issues as well as national policies.
3. In a parliamentary republic, the legislature elects the executive: MPs should therefore also make commitments about the forthcoming actions of the Council of Ministers.

The participating youth (student parliament presidents, students and other youth activists) had the opportunity to raise their questions live or via the Slido.com platform. They generated over 30 questions, including:

• Why do we study so much factology, we have so many lessons without exception, the MP candidates agreed that the curricula are heavy with impractical knowledge and need to be simplified. Acad. Denkov pointed out that in the past year an evaluation of the curricula and a process of curriculum change has been initiated, involving parents (through a representative survey) and students (through an online survey) in addition to teachers. This process is currently stalled but should be continued. Krasimir Valchev highlighted the need to include more practical skills to prepare graduates for the labour market. All participants welcomed the implementation of professional dual training as one of the means of linking school training to the real needs of the labour market.
• What would you do to reduce bullying and aggression at school and among adolescents in general? Arch. Terziyski underlined that it is important to fight aggression through concrete measures and one of them is the implemented Culture and Sport programme, because through this type of activities we can reduce the level of aggression among children themselves. He also noted that a comprehensive approach is needed, which includes working with children from an early age, with parents, teachers and mediators together. Maston Mastanov pointed out that it is important to look for the root cause of aggression and summarized, “The solution is in each of us – let’s be kind and tolerant.”
• How will you make sure that young people stay to live in Bulgaria: A consensus emerged among the participating politicians that investment in the quality of higher education and facilitating access to the labour market for young people, including those without professional experience, is needed. Krassimir Valchev pointed out that the experience from Poland shows the need to reach wage levels exceeding 70% of the EU average in order to reverse the migration process and to make young people graduating from Western universities want to work in Bulgaria. We have now reached levels of 55%, which means that we need to increase the average wage, especially in sectors that are attractive to young people. Denitsa Sacheva suggested that the state should cover 60 percent of salaries and social security at the first job. Acad. Denkov highlighted the need for investment in higher education and the possibility for Bulgarian universities to work in partnership with leading universities in other European countries. In this way, it will be possible for Bulgarian young people to study, for example, 2 years in a Bulgarian university, 2 years in a German, French, etc. university and they will not need to migrate in order to get a better higher education.
• What will you do to have our work as volunteers in different organisations recognised: this question was on the minds of young people participating in all the debates. Ivan Ivanov pointed out that he was involved in the preparation of a draft law on volunteering and such a law should be adopted. This idea was supported by all politicians participating in the debates and a consensus formed around it. It is necessary to prepare and adopt, after a broad public debate, a law that regulates the rights of young people who are systematically involved in voluntary activities; their voluntary work must be supported when applying for jobs, scholarships and internships.
• How to make education completely free: in various forms, young people raised the issue of financial barriers, such as the fees of some courses in higher education, transport for secondary school students, etc. Georgi Gyokov said that it is necessary to work for completely free education from nurseries to universities. Already kindergarten fees have been abolished, textbooks in general education up to 12th grade are free, and these measures are supported by all political forces. According to Krasimir Valchev, it is also necessary to move towards completely free transport for secondary school pupils: at present, the state budget covers transport to the nearest secondary school, as well as to the nearest vocational class. It is necessary to completely remove barriers to transport for students from rural areas.
• How will the sustainability of the education mediator profession be ensured: this question was asked by both education mediators and students. A specific concern was that the national programme to support educational mediators ends at the end of June and the Ministry of Education has not yet announced until when it will be extended. All participants from all parties have expressed support for sustainable funding for educational mediators. Krassimir Valchev proposed the continuation of the national programme as an urgent first step and the allocation of special resources for the recruitment of educational mediators/social workers in schools through the Funding Ordinance. This will give more security and sustainability. He said the salaries of mediators should reach 90 percent of the minimum teacher salary. According to Dr. Kasarov, mediators should also be assisted to qualify on conflict resolution in schools. Acad. Denkov and prof. Evlogiev also stressed the possibility for mediators to acquire higher pedagogical education and then become full teachers.
• Education funding: participants from all parties agreed that at least 5% of GDP should be allocated to education and that in addition to this, funding for science and research should be increased. Architect Terziiski and Academician Denkov pointed out that money should follow the quality of education, not just the number of students in a given school. In this context, a scale for assessing value added has been developed: the quality of education should be assessed on the basis of how much a school helps its students to develop their knowledge and skills in different years. This will show that many schools that educate pupils from vulnerable groups have a higher added value compared to the so-called “elite schools”, stressed Acad. Denkov. On the issue of added value and quality of education, a political consensus also emerged among the participating parties and coalitions.
• How to overcome segregation in education: “they call our schools ‘gypsy schools’ and Bulgarian children run away from them”, some of the young people pointed out. “The school is a place where the children live. Prof. Evlogiev said that in many municipalities and localities minority students are the majority and “labelling” should be avoided in every way. Acad. Denkov agreed with the importance of advocating desegregation policies, but stressed that it is even more important to ensure quality education for every child in every school. Krasimir Valchev was clear that pushing for desegregation policies is one of the key priorities for the development of school education. He recalled that since 2019 the state budget has funded a national programme to support desegregation, but the interest of municipalities in it is still low. It is necessary to require municipalities with segregated urban schools to take measures to reduce segregation through a change in the Law on preschool and school education. In this regard, Deyan Kolev appealed to the Ministry of Education and Science not to allow the transformation of segregated urban primary schools into united schools (i.e. teaching up to 10th grade), but through a change in the Law on preschool and school education to move towards reducing the stages at which a student can be educated in a segregated environment in settlements with ethnically mixed populations.

At the end of each of the debates, the participating young people gave feedback on the culture of the debate and the usefulness of the answers received. In all three debates, the constructive and tolerant tone maintained by the politicians was highly appreciated. The emerging consensus on most of the issues was also appreciated. This consensus is not complete and it is normal that there are differences on some of the specific measures, but the main objectives and the main policy steps to achieve them are shared by the key political forces.

On behalf of Center Amalipe Deyan Kolev thanked the candidates for MPs for their participation and for their attention to the needs of young people. He urged the youth to exercise their right to vote and the politicians to finally form a government. All agreed on the need to continue this type of talks between young people and MPs with some frequency after the elections.

Watch the debate from Shumen here:

Watch the debate from Veliko Tarnovo here:

Watch the debate from Stara Zagora here:

The debates were implemented as part of the project “Intercultural Academy for Citizenship and Tolerance” implemented by Center “Amalipe”, Open Society Foundation – Sofia, Forum Civic Participation and eleven schools in at least 50 municipalities in disadvantaged regions and communities outside Sofia. The project covers a wide range of high school age students, especially those who are underserved, from vulnerable Roma communities, from underdeveloped regions, etc., to significantly increase their knowledge, interest and motivation to be active in various forms of civic participation. They are involved in a range of interactive peer trainings (including a Leadership Academy), formal education activities and campaigns/simulations. A range of online and other tools are being developed and used within the project. The project is supported by the U.S. State Department through the U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria.

The project “Intercultural Academy for Citizenship and Tolerance” is supported by the U.S. State Department through the U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria. Presentation about the project and main activities can be found here