Proposals for changes in the Higher Education Law hailed by rectors

Boyko Borisov with the Education Minister Sergei Ignatov (left) and the Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov.

Universities will have the right to collaborate with other institutions, if the new Higher Education Law passes through Parliament, announced the Prime Minister Boyko Borisov at a meeting with rectors and members of the Education Commission in the Council of Ministers today.

They will also be allowed to form partnerships and sell and develop programmes with other universities and colleges not only from Bulgaria, but other countries as well.

Other amendments to the current law would enable HE institutions to validate the education that their applicants have previously received and to decide how much they would charge for their Masters programmes. At the moment students, who had received all or part of their education abroad, had to have their studies validated by the Ministry of Education. The state also sets the maximum amount the institutions could charge for postgraduate courses.

The Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov said that the changes are aimed at facilitating the intake of foreign students at Bulgarian universities and building up their reputation abroad. With a growing number of students choosing to study in other EU countries, the rectors at the meeting hailed the amendments as "timely" and "necessary".

The date for Parliament to vote on the changes, however, hasn't been set yet.