6003 | 25 March 2025 | 11:49

He noted that literature cultivates some of the most important skills, but also the widest range of skills, including communication, language, cognitive, and critical thinking. These are all skills of the 21st century

 "We need to create a vision for change in the literature curriculum. I am convinced that we can make room for new literature, but without sacrificing classic literature. This was stated by the Minister of Education and Science Krasimir Valchev at the round table "Literature is not a museum," organized by the Faculty of Slavic Philology at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski".

 If we have enough literary works and teaching of literature for forming national self-awareness, we must add more contemporary literature, said the Minister of Education.   

 He stated that literature from all subjects is the most powerful tool for two main things - for forming national self-awareness and for developing the widest range of skills necessary for full, life, personal realization of children in the 21st century. And we must align literature education with these two goals.   

 A month and a half ago, we published a concept for changes in the curriculum, and this concept is mutual, Minister Valchev reminded.

 He noted that literature cultivates some of the most important skills, as well as the widest range of skills, including communicative, linguistic, cognitive, and critical thinking. These are all 21st-century skills and we must try to form this broader set of competencies in children through literature.

 If we look at the literature curriculum, we have a dominance of the classical, of Bulgarian literature, but through the educational plan we will see something else. In the educational plan and in the national information system of the Ministry of Education and Science, the hours in the high school stage for different subjects show that the most hours are dedicated to foreign language. The foreign language profile is at 36%, but we have very few students who have chosen the Bulgarian language profile - around 3-4%. From the remaining parallel tracks, three quarters are focused on expanded and intensive language learning, Minister Valchev said. He noted that "we have subjected our education system much more to the goal of students knowing a foreign language and have narrowed the space for Bulgarian language, social and natural sciences, and mathematics."

 We can balance our education system and free up more space for literature, both Bulgarian and foreign, because modern Bulgarian and foreign literature can provide students with a wide mix of competencies, provoke their interest in reading, curiosity about the world, and make them more knowledgeable and capable individuals. Our focus is not only on mathematics and natural sciences. I believe that by providing a broader humanitarian foundation for children, we will make them more suitable for the world and the decades in which they will live. Today's students will still be active in 2070, and the following decades will be connected to the interactions between humans and algorithms, and a solid humanitarian foundation is necessary for every profession, said Minister Krasimir Vulchev.