Bulgaria has been performing pretty well despite of the declining quality of education, which was stellar during Communism. Nobody was pushing us to advance in Math and Science; there was just nothing better to do. I wish these times could come back. Right now, kids are faced with all kinds of distractions and little incentive to go into studying seriously.

>Nobody was pushing us to advance in Math and Science; there was just nothing better to do

Not true. Being a child prodigy at math or science in communism, meant you'd get a ticket to move the the nation's capital or other such big academic cities and have cushy desk jobs, instead of being stuck in underdeveloped rural areas doing nothing but backbreaking agricultural work. That was the big motivator. That's how my dad ended up in the big city from the poorest city of the country.

> Right now, kids are faced with all kinds of distractions and little incentive to go into studying seriously.

Why would kids today want to "study seriously" when they see top online streamers, influencers and serial hustlers(scammers) making way more money than lines of white collar people with academic degrees which are now filling the unemployment lines due to the economy. Kids want instant gratification, they want to make money quick and easy, not study for 16 years then get replaced by offshore workers or AI.