site.btaDevelopment of School, Preschool Education Strategy Has Been Developed in Vratsa Region

Vratsa Region is among the few regions in Bulgaria that have developed a strategy for the development of school and preschool education for 2023-2027, Loreta Koleva, Director of the Regional Department of Education in Vratsa, said during a local conference held here on Wednesday. The event was part of BTA’s Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project. 

It can be said that the projects of the Education and Science Ministry under the Education programme have a clearly expressed meaning and benefits for the education system on the territory of Vratsa Region, she emphasized. For Vratsa Region, the projects with European funding aimed at ensuring equal access to preschool and school education and the inclusion of children and students from vulnerable groups in the educational process are filled with great meaning and content, Koleva stressed.

A significant part of the educational institutions on the territory of the region have a concentration of children and students from vulnerable groups, about 30% of kindergartens and about 60% of schools, she pointed out, adding that a natural result of this picture is the incomplete inclusion of a number of children and students in the educational process and their unsatisfactory educational results. 

Two of the projects that are implemented under operations of strategic importance and that focus on children and students from vulnerable groups in Vratsa Region under the Education programme are Success for You and Strong Start, Andreeva said and presented the goals and activities of both. 

"There is no more rewarding and satisfying role than discovering, supporting and participating in the development of children's potential. We find great meaning and inspiration in this," she stressed.

BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project aims to raise public awareness and foster open dialogue about cohesion policy, local achievements, and the implementation of the EU's policy priorities. The project kicked off with a conference in Veliki Preslav in November 2024. The schedule of conferences until the end of September 2025 includes events in the following cities: Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kazanlak, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Razgrad, Ruse, Samokov, Svishtov, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Stara Zagora, Troyan, Targovishte, Haskovo, Shumen, and Yambol. Cross-border conferences will be held in Belgrade, Bosilegrad, Bucharest, Edirne, Skopje, and Thessaloniki. The project builds on the Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future and Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future projects, implemented by BTA in 2023 and 2024, respectively.