Financing for equity in higher education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to institutions
3. Education resources to students
4. Support for students' living costs
Introduction
Key financing indicators (UIS Data)
The gross enrolment ratio for tertiary education for both sexes was 79.85 in 2023. The initial government funding per tertiary student as a percentage of GDP per capita was 21.09 in 2022. The initial household funding per tertiary student as a percentage of GDP per capita was 12.74 in 2022.
Tuition-free status
Public tertiary education in Bulgaria is not fully tuition-free under current national laws and policies. The 2003 Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria states that education in higher state schools is free of charge only “under conditions determined by law.” The 1995 Higher Education Act explicitly allows public higher education institutions to charge application and tuition fees.
Governance
Higher education financing is centrally overseen by the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) and the Ministry of Finance, under the authority of the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers. The MES directs higher education policy and administers the sector budget, including subsidies to public institutions, while the Ministry of Finance prepares the annual budget in accordance with the State Budget Act. The National Assembly adopts the Higher Education Act and the State Budget Act, which set the legal and financial framework for university funding, and the Council of Ministers issues decrees specifying funding methodologies, per-student norms and targeted allocations.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
Higher education funding is largely centralized, with public resources allocated directly to institutions through the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Finance, as determined by the State Budget Act.
2. Education resources to institutions
Funding for private universities in the absence of public institutions
The 1995 Higher Education Act requires private higher education institutions to secure their own financial provision through their founding members and private income sources. There is no provision for state funding, even in the absence of a locally available public institution.
Allocation and equity
Government subsidies to public higher education institutions are regulated by the 1995 Higher Education Act. The Act mandates that annual funding be set at a minimum of 0.9 percent of GDP and that funds be allocated to accredited institutions based on student numbers and adjusted per-student funding coefficients across different fields of study. The Act assigns the Council of Ministers the responsibility for determining the annual subsidy for each public higher school. This includes determining the conditions for granting scholarships and benefits and for compensating institutions for the waiver of fees for certain categories of students, including students with disabilities, orphans, and other protected groups.
3. Education resources to students
Admission for vulnerable groups
Bulgarian higher education policy provides for specific admission arrangements and financial support measures for several vulnerable groups, as set out in the 1995 Higher Education Act. Public higher education institutions may admit students from socially excluded and disadvantaged groups under reduced conditions and preferential admission orders, including full orphans, persons with long-term disabilities, military disabled and war victims, young people who, at the age of majority, were under protection measures under the Child Protection Act, and mothers of children below six years of age. In addition, Decree No. 264 of 25 July 2024 authorizes up to 400 foreign citizens or stateless persons with temporary protection to enroll in state universities outside the regular admission quotas.
The Strategic Framework for the Development of Education, Training and Learning 2021–2030 commits to expanding financial support and targeted places for vulnerable learners, including students from low-income families and persons under temporary protection.
Scholarships, grants and loans for vulnerable groups
The 1995 Higher Education Act mandates the Council of Ministers to define the types, amounts and allocation procedures for these scholarships and related social benefits, which are then implemented by institutions in their internal rules. The following groups are entitled to statefunded scholarships regardless of academic performance: unmarried students without both parents, students with permanent disabilities, those with parents with permanent disabilities, care leavers under the Child Protection Act, student mothers with a child up to six years of age, and student fathers with a young child for whom they are sole or primary carers.
Loans are available under the 2008 Student and Doctoral-Candidate Loans Act (SDCLA), which establishes a government-guaranteed loan scheme, implemented through partner banks, that provides tuition and maintenance loans to full-time Bachelor, Master, and doctoral students, with regulated grace periods and subsidized interest designed to support students with lower earning capacity. In 2026, amendments to the SDCLA were adopted to set interest rates at no higher than 3 per cent, increasing the accessibility and affordability of higher education.
4. Support for students’ living costs
Transportation
The 1995 Higher Education Act states that students are entitled to discounted fares on urban and intercity public transport. Specific discounts are regulated by national legislation and implemented through agreements between the state and transport companies.
Accommodation
The 1995 Higher Education Act states that students are entitled to use student dormitories and canteens. Institutions receive budget subsidies to lower rents and meal prices, and they set detailed rules for allocation and preferential rates in their internal regulations. Students from vulnerable groups including orphans, students with long-term disabilities, those raised under child-protection measures, and mothers with young children are entitled to reduced dormitory rents and deposits, usually paying only 30 percent of the standard rate throughout the year.
Textbooks
No information was found national textbook subsidy scheme to support students at in higher education.
