EEPG Members: Prosveta, Bulgaria
We are excited to present the EEPG members in a weekly spotlight via short interviews. This is Prosveta from Bulgaria.
Prosveta Publishing Group is the largest Bulgarian educational publisher. For over seven decades, it has been the most authoritative educational publishing house in the country. Prosveta offers textbooks and teaching aids in all subjects for kindergarten and school grades 1st to 12th, including foreign language textbooks in English, German, Russian and French. Find
more information here.
Interview with Kina Andreeva, Editor in Chief.
1. What is the main challenge in your country & market?
All textbooks and school kits in Bulgaria are approved by the Ministry of Education. Moreover, the Ministry issues the school curricula, which we as educational publishers comply with when producing textbooks. This year, the school curricula are being reviewed, and the Ministry has notified us that there will be changes to the programs. The precise nature of these changes and the expected date for their implementation are still unclear. This uncertainty is definitely a challenge, as we need to thoroughly prepare to adhere to any changes in the regulatory framework that may occur.
Another potential challenge is the suggestion of the Bulgarian Socialist Party to only have one textbook per subject per grade. This proposition has been circulating for years now. Hopefully, it will not come into effect, as this will cause significant disruption for the educational publishers and the academic publishing market in Bulgaria.
The global COVID pandemic has also posed serious difficulties, as it created the need for digitalization and educating our teachers to work in a digital environment. The Bulgarian educational system was definitely underprepared for such a challenge. Still, we, as publishers, tried our best to find solutions for the most urgent issues and aid teachers, parents, and students in different ways - mainly through our digital platform e-prosveta, and the various digital resources it contains.
Over the past few years, a challenge for the Bulgarian educational system has been the integration of children whose mother tongue is not Bulgarian as well as children with special educational needs. Prosveta Publishing Group takes these challenges very seriously and is working on projects in these areas.
2. Why is educational cooperation on a European level important to you?
Bulgaria has been a member of the EU since 2007, and Prosveta Publishing Group strongly believes in participating and cooperating in, and supporting the different initiatives of the Union. This is why educational cooperation on a European level is vital to us. It so happens that we live in chaotic times. Being a member of an institution of such significance is reassuring. Even though educational systems and practices among the members of the EU may differ, we are glad to be sharing our experience, ideas, and challenges with adherents from various countries and to try and adopt the best practices that we hear of through the EEPG.
3. In your opinion what are the main benefits of being a member of the EEPG?
If we had to sum up the benefits of being a member of the EEPG, we would say that as members, we can count on recognition, respect, reciprocity, and reliability.
being a member of the EEPG proved to be a tremendous asset for Prosveta Publishing Group. It provides us with an incredible opportunity to communicate, exchange ideas, and experience with fellow educational publishers. EEPG has created a sense of purpose in a community, a friendly space where anyone can share their questions and ideas and receive support and know-how. At the heart of the academic cause is the mutual understanding that people gather to do something together for the benefit of generations to come. Even amid a global pandemic, the EEPG has initiated a series of monthly meetings, which kept the connection between the members and allowed for lively discussions on important topics.
The organization has shown the ability to stand together in the face of extraordinary challenges, such as the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine, and to work together as a team to provide solutions for thousands of children who, despite the uncertain and sometimes quite violent world we live in, still need the education process not to be disrupted - to the best of the mutual efforts of educational publishers.