This article aims at identifying major problems of Bulgarian state higher education. It provides critical analysis of government education policy and evaluation of current state of higher education institutions in Republic of Bulgaria. Analysis starts from the viewpoint that each market oriented educational system must always set at least two primary objectives: 1/Providing high quality of students' training and 2/Meeting the demands of business without “overproduction” of students. The review of the problem points out two key prerequisites for effective higher state education provision, namely: 1/Funding of universities should be based on quality, not quantity. Universities must be given rights to work out their own systems for objective assessment of students' knowledge. This will prompt competition among students and will lead to a higher quality of education. New characteristics of educational programs have to take place to encourage knowledge building - giving priority to practical training and development of professional and personal skills, instead of memorizing theoretical facts and thus being awarded a diploma without any conscious efforts. 2/Huge amount of the government quota in higher education has to be cut down or, at least, become an object of stringent control and planning. The common guidelines for change offered by this article can be enforced according to the current objective possibilities of Bulgarian educational system.

The development of higher education's system in the recent years endured transformations and restructurings, having to answer number of challenges. On one hand, the main challenge was connected with the requirements of the labour market as well as with the rapidly changing outside environment. The established new requirements that regarded employers' increasing pretentions about the work positions as well as the competence of the experts, who have been "produced", are the main challenge in the new circumstances. Higher schools, put in active market relations, started looking for an answer to that new challenge. The responsibility of higher schools' adequate behaviour is their managements' and teachers' ability to react innovatively, quickly and adequately, put sometimes in extreme conditions. Very often, these days the question of which of these challenges put the Bulgarian higher schools in the unsatisfying condition to "cover" these environment requirements is asked. At first sight, the established new legal grounds, the opportunity for autonomous development and number of other circumstances gave them full opportunities for realization of these new circumstances. Actually, most of the higher schools couldn't effectively manage with the new assigned tasks, and reorganization and restructuring was happening in an administrative and inert manner. In most of the cases, the universities turned out being quiet and peaceful places for staying, without this "stay at the working place's" result being clear and specified. Bulgarian higher schools' development put forward some critical and basic questions for their teachers' competence, for the skills and knowledge their students get, for the financing models and in the long run, for the quality of the educational service they render.

Higher education in Bulgaria is discussed. The following topics are considered: the history of Bulgarian higher education; structure, content, and functioning of higher education; higher education organization and administration; nonuniversity higher education; other forms of higher education; fields of study; curriculum; educational process and assessment of knowledge; probation service and practice; diplomas and degrees; teaching staff; college admission; job assignments for graduates; social support services provided for students; foreign students; postgraduate training; the role of research; university libraries; international cooperation in higher education; and future prospects and reform of higher education. Data are included on: total population in Bulgaria in 1979; student enrollments and development of institutions during 1939-1980; number of research workers and teaching personnel; distribution of institutions, academic staff, and students in 1971; regular and nonpermanent academic staff, 1980-1981; teacher-student ratios, 1977-1978; number of students studying abroad; number of students receiving scholarships; and number of foreign students, 1980-1981. A list of higher education institutions is included. (SW)

This book gives an overview of the Bulgarian education system and describes its development since its development over the past decade.