311 candidates were admitted to the second stage of the competitions for school principals. They had to answer 50 three-choice questions. The minimum score for admission to the next stage of the competition was 30 points, with 14% of all applicants failing to achieve this and not moving on.
Candidates who proceed to the second stage must present the concept they have prepared for the development of the relevant educational institution. The second stage begins on March 5 according to schedules prepared by the relevant Regional Education Department. Candidates will be informed about the venue in the respective area.
Along with the concept of the exam itself, they will also have to solve two specific case studies. To avoid the subjective element, more than 150 similar case studies have been developed. All of them are based on real situations that happened in Bulgarian schools and in which it was not necessary to formally apply the regulations, but a leadership approach.
Committee members will have the right to ask questions, but only relevant to the content of the candidate’s concept, the case studies and the specifics of the position.
In order to have complete transparency, the participants in the competition will be without mobile phones, and the entire exam will be video and audio recorded by the ministry.
For the first time, the selection of principals of educational institutions is oriented not just to finding administrators, but to the search for leaders who would contribute to the change in Bulgarian education.
This is part of the initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Science to change the educational system and to reduce the mechanical reproduction of knowledge and the formation of more skills and competencies in students. For this change to happen, how each school is run is important. Therefore, the philosophy of the rules of the new competitions is to select not only legally prepared people, but individuals with multiple qualities and competencies.
Competitions for principals were announced in 276 schools across the country. There were 415 candidates, and 376 were admitted to the first stage of the competition. Of them, 11 did not appear for the test. In the event that there is no candidate for a given school or the only candidate is dropped due to non-appearance or a low result, the competition procedure is terminated.