REFLECTIONS ON THE PROBLEMS OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA

Abstract

In the last almost 25 years, a frequently discussed topic in the public space is the quality of higher education, not only by experts in this field, but also by people far from the educational process. It is easy to suggest the opinion about the poor quality of the educational product of Bulgarian higher education institutions and the need for almost continuous reforms in the educational system of our country, justifying itself with the place of Bulgarian higher education institutions in the European space of higher education. And if some of the changes have a positive effect, then a significant part of them are not only ineffective, but also bring a large dose of negativity to Bulgarian higher education. Especially in the last few years, when a number of defects have been noticed in the legislative framework of higher education and the development of the academic staff in the Republic of Bulgaria, leading to a number of untenable decisions and self-dealing at the university level by some rectors' managements. Undoubtedly, actions of this kind undermine the authority of both the academic staff and the students and the entire system of higher education, which feeds the opinion of the apologists who support the idea of poor-quality higher education in Bulgarian higher education institutions. Yes, to a certain extent, some deviations in the quality of education are noticeable in some higher education institutions, especially in the years of transition from a centralized market economy and a democratic society. Yes, with the introduction of the law on the development of the academic com Higher education institutions in the Republic of Bulgaria and the Regulations for its implementation, which replaced the Law on Scientific Degrees and Scientific Titles, in the first years there was a boom in the number of elected professors and associate professors in universities, after which actions were taken to regulate this process with changes in the legislation, in order to introduce Mini Higher education institution National Requirements for the Academic Staff and Academic Positions and registration with the National Academy of Sciences and Humanities. In parallel, a Criteria System of the NEAA for Evaluation and Accreditation was introduced in accordance with the standards and guidelines for quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). Moreover, the parallel evaluation of professional fields according to the schedule of the National Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation is already a fact for the purpose of comparability and measurability of training in specialties in a given professional field in different universities in the interest of improving the quality of the educational process. Against the background of the above processes, the scientific reflections of the author, who has 38 years of experience as a university lecturer, are provoked by the observations and established problem areas in higher education. This is the purpose of this publication to examine the problematic areas in state higher education institutions, provoked both by some legislative defects and by the unilateral decisions of some rectors' managements.