Bulgaria’s education ministry proposes a nationwide instrument to monitor children’s development in pre-school, aiming to unify standards and enhance early childhood support.
Bulgaria’s education ministry is proposing a single national instrument for tracking the development of children in pre-school education, a move officials say would bring the same standards to assessments at the start and end of the school system. According to Dnes.bg, the plan is meant to create a common framework for teachers and make comparisons more consistent across kindergartens.
Educators quoted by Bulgaria ON AIR said the draft tool is designed to be practical and relatively quick to use. Kindergarten teacher Simona Damyanova said it takes about 15 minutes per child for the questions, with the rest based on observation, and that the instructions are clear enough to guide teachers through what to look for. Similar summaries carried by Iskra.bg, Novinata.bg and Azbuki said the system is intended to standardise observation rather than add a formal grading system.
The proposed instrument focuses on six main areas of development, with physical development first on the list, followed by fine motor skills, language and the ability to absorb information. Professor Yury Yanakiev of Plovdiv University told Bulgaria ON AIR that the concerns around the initiative are exaggerated and that the tool is a screening method, not a way to score children or parents. He said it is meant to show where support may be needed, and that it draws on established testing practice adapted for Bulgarian children.
Damyanova also said the biggest challenges are often linked to screen time and to children arriving at kindergarten with a limited vocabulary. She said that when problems are identified, teachers should work with parents, speech therapists and psychologists. One unresolved issue is the wording on afternoon sleep: Damyanova said she sees its importance both as a parent and a teacher, but noted that not every child needs the same amount of rest. UNICEF Bulgaria has separately said it is helping the government build a broader monitoring and evaluation system for early childhood development, underscoring that the ministry’s proposal sits within a wider push to strengthen early years policy.
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