Higher education - the key to the prosperity of Bulgaria

At the meeting, opened by the Rector of Sofia University, Prof. Georgi Valchev, Deputy Minister Acad. Nikolay Vitanov also participated. Minister Valchev emphasized that prosperous are the countries that have focused on higher education and the development of industries with high added value. He called on universities to actively participate in discussions on how to achieve the strategic goals of the state through the system of higher and school education.

The Minister thanked the management of Sofia University for supporting the policies of the Ministry of Education and Science, including the increase in requirements and the encouragement of applying with mathematics in higher education institutions. He also commented on the discussed changes in the Higher Education Act, such as the regulation of the concept of shared resources between higher education institutions and the creation of alliances.

According to Minister Valchev, key to the development of higher education is increasing competition between universities in offering quality higher education. He stressed that merging of higher education institutions is not being discussed, but rather cooperation and association, in order to be more competitive on the global market.

The Minister announced that the discussion of visions for changing the individual curricula in school education is forthcoming and relies on Sofia University to participate in this process. According to data from the Rating System of Higher Education Institutions, Sofia University ranks first in the country in training in 22 professional fields, and its graduates have a very successful realization on the labor market.