Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov, Rector of the UNWE, to FACTI: Over 30 Universities Want a New Rectors' Council

A new division is emerging in Bulgarian higher education around the representation of rectors. Over 30 universities have expressed a desire for a new organization that would be more broadly representative and provide a clearer communication channel with state institutions. According to them, the current model of the Rectors' Council has exhausted its functions and representativeness, and the accumulated problems are related not only to the procedures, but also to the way in which the different positions of higher education institutions are heard. Why did the idea of an alternative Rectors' Council come about… Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov, Rector of the UNWE, speaks to FACTI.

- Professor Dimitrov, currently the impression is created that there are two camps of rectors in Bulgarian higher education. What is the dispute actually about? Are we talking about two different Rectors' Councils or an internal conflict within the same organization?
- The question posed in this way has a slightly changed perspective. The Rectors' Council under Article 23 of the Higher Education Act (HEA) should not be defined as alternative, since its existence, status and functions are explicitly regulated by law. It is more correct to use the formulation "the legally regulated Rectors' Council under Art. 23 of the HEA". We currently have an association, which is a non-governmental organization, the Rectors' Council in the Republic of Bulgaria, which is still operating. The organization is registered under the Law on Legal Entities, which for a long time was presented as the voice of all higher education institutions. In addition, there are several other associations, which function with varying success and in different ways. There is an association of private higher education institutions, there is an association of medical schools, which are registered under the same law.
Since last year, somewhere around this time, an association of state higher education institutions was created, which also has different interests. But the specific reason for seeking representation of all higher education institutions in such a council was the beginning of this year, when it clearly turned out that the current association had somehow exhausted its functions and representativeness and stopped responding to and protecting the interests of higher education institutions.

- And so we came to the creation of the new alternative Council of Rectors. Is that how we understand it?
- I say again, this council is not alternative. I am talking about the Council of Rectors, which is under Article 23 of the Law on Higher Education Institutions, which represents higher education institutions. Yes, perhaps the previous model of association has exhausted itself, because there has been criticism and comments that have been going on recently. There was criticism that the voice of all higher education institutions is not being heard. Sometimes these councils discuss issues that affect either state or private higher education institutions, or something else.
Perhaps there are subjective elements in this work, but in May and June it actually became clear that we have positions and issues in this Council of Rectors that are not finding their resolution. There were personal attacks, there were attempts to come up with a position from the Council of Rectors, and when an explanation was requested from the General Assembly, none was given.
One of the acting rectors asked clear questions about certain things that were being said on behalf of the Council of Rectors, without being coordinated. And when an explanation was requested from the General Assembly, none was given, but procedural tricks were used to postpone this issue. The issue was not included in the agenda, should it be discussed now, etc. So the rectors of several higher education institutions simply got up and left.

- Yes, you are talking about the meeting on June 11, when 15 rectors left the General Assembly?
- Well, when you don't see the point in the existence of a structure that is supposedly created to represent interests, because everyone is a colleague and equal to each other, such a solution is probably being sought. So that was the reason then. But the reasons are a little deeper, they go back much further in time. It is about the fact that different interests of different higher education institutions are not well communicated, so to speak, and brought to the relevant state institutions. So several universities decided to start something new. It has not yet been created, this is a legal issue, in order to return to the purer form of the Council of Rectors under Article 23, as is known.
In the new organization, there will not be thousands of bodies, management boards, control committees, ethics committees and other things that would burden the organization. There will be no membership fees for which you will be expelled or not expelled, because this is definitely a problem of the current association, in which there are 3 or 4 universities that practically do not participate in the work of the Council of Rectors. There are some that do not pay their membership fees or do not attend the general meetings themselves for various reasons.

- Is this the reason you want a new organization – to have a clearer and truly accessible voice of the Council of Rectors to the relevant institutions?
- Yes. My colleagues and I had such a meeting at the beginning of July, shortly before the holidays, and we had a very frank conversation. There were representatives of state universities, private universities, medical universities, small universities, large universities, etc. They expressed their position very clearly and sincerely – that there should be no scandals, no arguments. On the contrary, that the common voice of Bulgarian higher education should be heard, which, unfortunately, has not been the case in the last few years.
The colleagues raised questions of all kinds, even technical ones, but important ones. For example, about the accreditation of higher education institutions – private and state, issues related to financing, related to student scholarships. When the structure becomes very complex, it also becomes cumbersome, and thus the voice of higher education institutions is lost – the dialogue with the state is disrupted, somehow lost, and education is an important function.

- So this is the idea for this new Council of Rectors, although the legal issue has not yet been clarified. Is this how you see the way out of this situation, or can you simply still find some common ground so that you remain united in the organization that has existed so far?
- If we look at it in general, the representatives of most universities in Bulgaria - I'm talking about over 30 universities - want a new organization. Now it's time for vacations. At the moment I was elected, not exactly elected, but I took on the role of coordinator of the new organization. In practice, we have not accepted anything to structure the direction and method of development, but the goal is to have an organization that can present the different positions to the institutions.
Again, I say that there was a wrong communication channel with the state, because a selection of topics and opinions resulted. On the contrary, both the smallest universities and the private ones have their own voice and can express their opinions and reach the relevant state institutions.
But when, and I return to this situation again, in June, when many universities asked for an explanation from the chairman of the Council of Rectors on some issue, and they were told: “But it is not included in the agenda, we will not consider it now…“ What is this?

- There was the application of “technical and administrative“ measures, so I understand?
- Something like that. This also raises questions about the moral and ethical side, about the very relations within the previous Council of Rectors.

- So there was some kind of division within the Council of Rectors itself?
- There was such a process, and the current actions are inevitable. When you see that 16 or 20 universities want something and are very categorical about it, because we are talking about Sofia University, UNWE, Technical University, Medical Universities, Engineering Universities, etc., you see that this is not just something marginal - 2-3 universities want something. When many universities want something, they must be heard and protected by this new Council of Rectors. When this does not happen, new legal forms are sought.

- The Supreme Administrative Court has finally decided that students in paid education are entitled to scholarships. However, this poses a serious financial issue for universities. How do you see things developing?
- The state raised this issue last year, when this was decided in December, and a resource was allocated for this purpose, which is ultimately limited. I think the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court is related to the fact that it is not formulated in a law, but is a by-law that regulates the payment of scholarships.
The money for scholarships is not much in principle and it should not be a problem for the state budget to pay them. We are talking about a shortage of about 14 million euros. Regardless of whether all excellent students should receive it, or a certain part of them, because there is logic in this.
If you are in full-time education, live in Sofia or Veliko Tarnovo and have accommodation, the scholarship helps. However, if you are in distance or part-time education, the costs are somehow lower. A solution will be found here, but this is not a big problem for me and it is not a problem that divides the Council of Rectors. As far as I know, the topic is already being discussed in a committee in parliament - such a legal change that would regulate who is entitled to receive scholarships. I expect there to be developments soon.