The average monthly insurable earnings of people with a university education in this country stand at BGN 900 (EUR 450). The percentage of registered unemployed among them is 3.77 which is three times lower than the average unemployment percentage for the country. The trouble is that less than half of the university graduates occupy posts that require a university-level education – 46 percent. These are just some of the inferences from the latest edition of the ranking system for Bulgarian universities.

At the moment, there are some 238,000 students at 51 establishments of higher education in the country. One third of them are doing economics and administration and management - the two most preferred majors. However analyses show that no more than 30 percent of them find a job adequate to their level of education. The unemployment percentage is lowest among graduates of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry as well as those with military degrees – under 1 percent, with over 90 percent holding a job adequate to the education acquired.

“The trouble with university education in Bulgaria is that it produces too many students, whereas there are not enough openings on the labour market,” comments Georgi Stoychev, chair of the consortium comprising the Open Society Institute, the MBMD polling agency and Sirma Group, developing the ranking system. “The problem is that the structure of our higher education is erroneous. There are sectors of the economy with a shortage of staff – for example the health care and IT system – whereas there are professional sectors that produce a surplus of staff. Rationalizing this structure could make public and private investments more cost-effective, i.e. with the same amount of money invested, we could have a higher level of professional fulfillment among graduates and a closer bond between university education and the labour market. This depends on people making an informed choice when they apply for university.”

Deputy Minister of Education and Science Prof. Nikolay Denkov also stressed that the most serious problem is the choice university applicants make. That is why the Ministry of Education and Science is planning information campaigns among 10^th and 11^th grade pupils who are yet to make their professional choice. In his words it is essential that the changes in secondary and university education are made in tandem. Here is what he said about the steps that should be taken to resolve the structural problem in higher education in the country:

“The gulf will continue to widen between the higher financing for those who provide high-quality education and hence – a good career, and the diminishing funding, or discontinuing of financing altogether, for university degrees the graduates of which face poor career prospects. That is the most powerful instrument and it is already in place. The second efficient financial instrument is the OP Science and Education for Smart Growth which envisages measures for boosting the so-called priority sectors. We have not finalized the list yet, but there is not the shadow of a doubt that engineering and IT are top of the list; there will be incentives for these students, such as designated scholarships. We shall also invest in adequate facilities. But other, less promising sectors will get no financing under the operational programme.”

Once again this year the ranking system has placed the St. Kliment Ohridski University, Sofia top of the list. Other leading universities include the Medical University, Sofia, the Technical University, Sofia and the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy.

English Milena Daynova