The Council of Ministers has published for public discussion a draft decision to approve a Bill amending and supplementing the Higher Education Act, which proposes changes aimed at limiting tuition fees, reducing the administrative burden and clarifying regulations in the sector.
One of the main changes provides for the increase in fees for students studying for a fee to be limited to no more than 20% for the entire period of study compared to the amount of the fee in the first year, bTV reports. The measure will apply to students admitted in the 2025/2026 academic year and to all subsequent classes. It is also planned to reduce the legally defined minimum tuition fees from 60% to 50% of the funds for supporting education.
According to the reasons of the Ministry of Education and Science (MES), the change aims to ensure predictability for both students and higher education institutions, as well as to prevent a sharp increase in fees, which could make it difficult to complete studies.
The draft law also proposes that application fees for state higher education institutions be approved by their academic managements, and not by the Council of Ministers, as has been the case so far.
It is also planned to include the register for academic recognition of higher education acquired abroad and the scientific degree “doctor“ to the general information system of higher education, maintained by the Ministry of Education and Science through NACID.
Another change is the introduction of an official verification of data on completed higher and secondary education, as well as on recognized education acquired abroad. The aim is to reduce the administrative burden for citizens and speed up administrative services.
The draft also proposes to explicitly regulate that only students and doctoral students studying in a full-time form of study at places subsidized by the state will be entitled to scholarships from the state budget.
The Ministry of Education and Science proposes to shorten the period for public discussion. The reasons cited are the upcoming start of the student application campaign for the 2026/2027 academic year, the need for higher education institutions to promptly determine and announce tuition fees, as well as the need to quickly implement the planned administrative reliefs.