The "Education" trade union under CITUB "Podkrepa" conducted a national survey titled "Education 2026: The Spectrum of Reform," which showed that the voice of Bulgarian teachers must be at the center of future education policies, said union chairman Dr. Yuliyan Petrov.
He noted that the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) has launched a series of debates in which the union is actively presenting teachers' positions and specific strategic proposals.
"Changes to the education system are doomed to fail if they are made without the people who bear daily responsibility for Bulgarian schools — the teachers," Petrov stressed. For this reason, the union identified the most pressing problems and the short-term and long-term solutions expected by the teaching community. In the survey, priorities were ranked by importance.
Topping the list is the need for genuine parental responsibility, including financial and administrative sanctions for serious violations of school rules by students. The second priority is reducing the content, factual load, and volume of the curriculum. Third is the option to expel a student for systematic and repeated violations.
Other key messages from the teaching community include:
- the need for functioning mechanisms and an effective policy to protect teachers from professional burnout;
- a complete ban on phone use in schools;
- introducing a discipline grade;
- enforcing school rules through real tools;
- changing the policy on special support;
- clear regulations and standards of conduct in teachers' communication with parents and institutions;
- strengthening the educator's role in shaping students' character.
The survey data show that the main expectations for reform are tied to parental responsibility, discipline, teacher protection, and a reduction in curriculum content. Here are the specific figures on trust in the profession: 87.5 percent of respondents believe trust in teachers is very low, while just 4.7 percent rate it as excellent.
More than 90% consider evaluating teachers based solely on paperwork to be one of the biggest mistakes. Only 7.6% describe this approach as good. A total of 95.3 percent of respondents say teachers perform administrative, social, health, and security-related duties unrelated to their profession, which have no place in the core of the job.
Several MES teams claim that paperwork is decreasing. Yet only 1.8% of teachers report any real reduction in administrative burden, while more than 95% see no meaningful relief at all. The strongest consensus — a full 98 percent — is on giving teachers greater authority over discipline and placing more responsibility on parents.
The teaching community is firm on funding. 97% disapprove of the government's decision to cut education spending as a share of GDP from 4.5 to 4 percent for 2027. 63.6% say they are not willing to wait until 2030 for salaries to reach 125% of the average gross wage. 25% show some tolerance for delays in meeting this commitment to teachers.
An overwhelming share of teachers believe that changes in education are introduced abruptly, without a clear strategy or planning — only 4.3 percent think the system is fulfilling its strategic mission. There is also widespread disapproval of excluding teachers and principals from committees that select school directors; only 2.9 percent accept the current arrangement.
On the debate over textbooks, 63.1 percent do not see the future of education in limiting schools to a single mandatory textbook, or they support an even more flexible model. Regarding the return of eighth grade as the completion of basic education, 61.4 percent support the move, while 24.3 percent oppose it. There is also support for compensating mentor teachers through the institution, with only 11.1 percent opposed.
On the subject "Virtues and Religions," 51.3 percent believe it will fulfill its mission of promoting tolerance and humanity, while 35.2 percent are skeptical. The State Budget Act bans qualification training outside of school. 75.1% believe this ban will harm the training process and make it harder to retain young teachers. Only 19% think it will have no effect.
One of the most alarming signals is that 95.8 percent believe schools are losing their historic mission and turning into a "social services factory," while only 3.6 percent are convinced that today's schools have preserved their mission.
The survey paints a clear picture: teachers want real tools and authority to enforce discipline and are calling for greater responsibility from parents. Educators firmly reject cuts to education funding, the burden of duties unrelated to teaching, and the lack of a clear, consistent strategy for reform.
The strongest conclusion from the survey is that education professionals expect reform built not on more bureaucracy and superficial policies, but on greater trust, real authority, functioning discipline, parental responsibility, and the state prioritizing education. "Because a successful education reform cannot be carried out in place of teachers — it can only be carried out together with them," Dr. Yuliyan Petrov concluded.