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2 clusters · 7 sources · 9 days · First seen · Last updated

Bulgarian higher education legislative reforms

Overview

The Bulgarian Parliament has been processing amendments to the Higher Education Act to reform student tuition fees and scholarship eligibility.

During the first reading, the proposed changes included reducing the minimum portion of maintenance funds used for tuition calculations from 60% to 50% and introducing a cap on tuition increases. The legislation also sought to limit state-funded scholarships to full-time students in state-subsidized programs, a move criticized by opposition parties like ‘We Continue the Change’ and ‘Democratic Bulgaria’ as potentially discriminatory.

Upon the second reading, the Parliament approved the amendments, formalizing the 20% cap on tuition increases over a student's studies and the new scholarship restrictions. The approved measures also grant academic councils greater autonomy to set application fees without Council of Ministers approval and delegate the certification of degrees and recognition of foreign education to individual institutions. These changes are set to apply to students admitted for the 2025/2026 academic year.

Entities

Senya Terzieva · Progressive Bulgaria · Bulgarian Parliament · National Assembly of Bulgaria · Ministry of Education and Science

Timeline

  1. 8 days ago

    [POLITICS] 2 sources
    Bulgarian Parliament caps university tuition fee increases

    The Bulgarian Parliament approved changes to the Higher Education Act, capping tuition fee increases at 20% and reducing minimum fee requirements for state universities.

  2. 17 days ago

    [POLITICS] 5 sources
    Bulgarian Parliament approves changes to student tuition and scholarships

    Bulgaria's Parliament passed first-reading amendments to the Higher Education Act, capping tuition increases at 20% and restricting state scholarships to full-time, state-subsidized students.

Sources

moreto.net · plovdivnow.bg · safenews.bg · securityadvisor.com · telegraph.bg · trafficnews.bg · vesti.bg