[size=75:2rz4lkh9]Standart news 22 February 2010

British Agency Assesses Bulgarian Universities

A British agency will inspect the Bulgarian universities and higher schools and make an assessment on the quality of teaching, starting as early as this year. On the basis of the British assessors' opinion, the financing to universities in budget 2011 will determined. The most important criterion, according to which funds will be allocated, will be the career development of students graduating from a certain university.
Bulgaria's Minister of Education, Sergey Ignatov broke the news at the opening of "
SOS Save Education Now"
campaign. It is organized by young people from GERB structures and its main aim is to give floor to the opinion of higher students and their voice be taken into account at the composition of the new higher education legislation.
The campaign's media partners are the Standart, Nova TV and Darik Radio. Right after the suggestions for amendments to the legislation are gathered, the Standart will organize a discussion on them in some of Bulgaria's university cities.
"
It is the first time students take part in the composition of legislation which directly concerns them which means they have taken the future in their hands,"
Minister of Education, Sergey Ignatov said.
He promised the suggestions will be included in the completed variant of the Act. Ignatov further reported that the first significant change which universities will experience will be that of financing. "
Vouchers will be introduced and if a student decides to change the university, the money will change it too. Thus naturally, the best universities will have the most money. Engineering studies will receive preferential subsidies because these studies are directly oriented to production.
Curricula will be cleansed of unnecessary course which are delivered only for the sake of filling teachers' academic workload,"
Mr Ignatov said. This will happen parallel to the introduction of three-year bachelor course instead of the current - four.
The academic and the financial management of the universities will be divided and rectors will not have to sign documents for public procurements and they will be able to focus on their academic and scientific work. Instead, the financial manager will sign such papers.