Education minister Prof. Georgi Valchev says the way schools mark pupils will change, mainly because of new curricula now being drawn up. He spoke to parliament's education and science committee, where he answered a question from an MP.

Fatime Yildiz of the DPS party asked about the role of formative and summative assessment, and whether the system needs to change, including in-class tests and exams. She said summative assessment is gaining weight and is more often done through tests, while formative assessment gets less attention.

Valchev said the system must be reset. "The education system is set up to reward the kind of assessment that causes an abnormal growth of private tutoring," the minister said. He said schools should prepare pupils so that the basic course alone gives them enough knowledge for the next level.

Valchev said the changes to the national external assessment (NVO) after Year 10 were announced in advance, so pupils, teachers and parents have had time to learn the new exam format. The exam after Year 10 measures a pupil's level and does not decide so much whether they continue their education, but this is the direction, the minister said.

Results from the NVO after Years 4 and 7 count towards the score for admission to specialist high schools and classes. Last year, a plan to change the Year 7 exam drew reactions from parents, pupils and teachers. The minister met parents, MPs and teachers to discuss it.

"I met parents, MPs and teachers, and that is why we have given one more year, so this can happen smoothly," Valchev said. He said parents and pupils should feel calmer, as this stage matters a great deal to them.

The minister said oral exams matter a lot, because they teach pupils to argue a case, express themselves, put their points in order, defend a view and challenge accepted ideas. He said nothing in school content is eternal, because science moves on.

Valchev also said parents and pupils must be prepared for the changes, or they will cause needless public tension. If the way pupils are tested changes fast, before new programmes and course content are ready, only the exams will change and not the system itself, the minister warned.