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Eurydice

EACEA National Policies Platform:Eurydice
Administration and governance at central and/or regional level

Bulgaria

2.Organisation and governance

2.6Administration and governance at central and/or regional level

Last update: 27 November 2023

At the central level:

The Ministry of Education and Science is an administration that assists the Minister of Education and Science in the execution of his/her powers. The Minister of Education and Science is the central single executive authority for the implementation of public policy in the field of education and science. 

The Minister exercises his/her powers in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the country by: 

  • conducting state policy and developing a strategy for the development of education and science that is also in line with EU-wide policy; 
  • conducting the State investment policy in the field of education and science; 
  • preparing international treaties and agreements and ensuring the implementation of international agreements in the field of education and science to which the Republic of Bulgaria is a party;
  • represent the Republic of Bulgaria in international education and science organisations; 
  • allocate and control the spending of the financial resources allocated by the State budget for education and science; 
  • lead and coordinate the development of models for management, structure, control and resourcing in the field of education and science; 
  • organizing the development and implementation of national programmes for the development of secondary and tertiary education and of qualification and retraining programmes; 
  • coordinate the implementation of national programmes and projects for scientific research and the development of scientific potential in accordance with trends in the development of science; 
  • manage, organise and coordinate programmes and projects in the field of education and science funded by international and foreign organisations and financial institutions; 
  • manage and coordinate the management of State property and the development of the material and technical base for the education and science systems; 
  • coordinate the implementation of social policy on employment, income levels in the field of education and science; 
  • managing, organising and supervising the staffing and administrative support of the education and science systems and the introduction and functioning of information technology in education and science; 
  • supervise the activities of the sub-budgetary authorities, etc; www.mon.bg 

The National Inspectorate of Education at the Council of Ministers is a body for external inspection of kindergartens and schools for independent assessment of the quality of the provided education. www.nio.government.bg

At the regional level:

28 Regional Departments of Education: the Regional Departments of Education are territorial administrative structures under the authority of the Minister of Education and Science. They are located in the administrative centre of each of the 28 regions of the country. Their main task is to create the conditions for the implementation of the state education policy in the territory of the region. They support to ensure the conditions for the functioning of the institutions in the pre-school and school education system on the territory of the district; they coordinate the interaction between the institutions in the pre-school and school education system, the territorial bodies of the executive power, the bodies of local self-government, the leaderships of the regional structures of the representative organisations of employees and employers; they monitor compliance with the state educational standards, the Pre-school and school education Act, the Vocational Education and Training Act (VET Act) and other regulations in the system of pre-school and school education by the institutions on the territory of the respective region. https://www.mon.bg/bg/324

N.B. Higher education management:

The state creates conditions for the free development of higher education, as well as conditions for access to higher education, such as: developing and implementing a national policy for the development of higher education and guaranteeing the academic autonomy of higher education institutions; taking care of the quality of the training of specialists and research; subsidising the education of students in public higher education institutions; providing them with a stipend, dormitories and canteens under certain conditions; establishing and maintaining a system for the allocation of credits for the payment of tuition fees and maintenance costs and, under certain conditions, providing social and living benefits for students, postgraduate students and specialists; organises the activities of the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency; determines the conditions for state recognition of diplomas issued by higher education institutions at home and abroad, etc. 

The Higher Education Act ensures academic independence to higher education institutions. The state encourages the autonomous Higher education institutions in their efforts to build strong and sustainable university structures with sufficient independence and transparency of process of decision making.

The National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency (NEAA) is a specialized state body under the Council of Ministers for evaluation, accreditation and quality control of the activities of higher education institutions in the following areas: education for the acquisition of the educational-qualification degrees "Bachelor", "Master" and the educational and scientific degree "Doctor"; the development of science, culture, project and innovation activities; the development of scientific research, artistic creation, sports and health activities in accordance with their specificity; the ability of the institution and its main units and affiliates to provide high quality education and research through an internal quality assessment and maintenance system; the implementation of the recommendations made during the assessment and accreditation. The Agency carries out evaluation activities of projects for the opening and transformation of higher education institutions, main units, branches, territorial offshoot units in the country and abroad and performs institutional and programme accreditation as well as post-accreditation monitoring and control. The Agency's activities aim to stimulate and supervise higher education institutions, to ensure and enhance the quality of the education they offer and to conduct it in accordance with the standards and guidelines for quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area. www.neaa.government.bg