site.btaEducation Minister: Waiving Tuition Fees for Students Will Increase Competition for State-subsidized Places in State Universities

The waiving of tuition fees for students will increase competition for state-subsidized places in state universities, Education Minister Galin Tzokov told the Bulgarian National Radio on Sunday.

On January 29, the Government proposed to waive tuition fees for undergraduate and PhD students in state universities enrolled in state-subsidized places. To this end, amendments to the Higher Education Act will be initiated. The funds required amounts to between BGN 120 million and BGN 150 million per year.

The Education Minister stressed that the measure is not a one-off act but a comprehensive government policy. It is aimed at expanding access, not reducing competition, Tzokov said. 

"Last year, the Bulgarian education system was included in an annual report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and one of the bad indicators for us is that 17% of young people between 18 and 25 neither study, nor work, nor engage in activities related to non-formal education," Tzokov pointed out.

The average tuition fee for state-subsidized students last year was BGN 1,050, the minister stated. "We invest money in Bulgaria's children. In ten years, the number of people graduating from higher education who are insured in Bulgaria has increased by 12%. Now it is 86%. Completing higher education in Bulgaria guarantees that young people will stay in our country," Tzokov added.

The average income of a university graduate is BGN 2,200, while six years ago it was BGN 950, the minister underlined. The best mechanism for Bulgarian children who have graduated from higher education to stay in Bulgaria is when the possibility of getting well-paid jobs and other social security benefits such as kindergartens is expanded, he said. "Money is no longer the main factor for our children to go abroad," Tzokov noted.

National Statistical Institute data show that people who have graduated from higher education receive two to three times higher salaries than others, the Education Minister said.