A system for returning money collected from student fees, resembling the practices of gambling operators, was operating at NATFA “Krustyo Sarafov“, according to an audit report by experts from the Ministry of Education and Science.
By law, state higher education institutions, such as the theater and film academy, have a statutory minimum amount of fees for paid education, below which they cannot fall when determining them.
By order of the rector Prof. Miroslav Dachev, whose resignation was already requested by students and teachers within the framework of numerous and mass intra-academic protests, in August 2025, fees were set at 6,800 leva (about 3,500 euros) for bachelor's studies, 7,000 leva (about 3,600 euros) for master's studies and 7,500 leva (3,850 euros) for doctoral students. They were applied for the completed academic year and were initially paid by students and doctoral students - paid tuition at NATFA. Subsequently, based on a decision of the Academic Council and a rector's order, 20% of the annual fee was refunded to them at the expense of the Academy's own revenues.
Such a “cashback“ system “actually leads to a reduction in the fee actually paid by students below the minimum amount permitted by law“ the report establishes. “Despite the fact that the refund is made after the end of the academic year, it is tied to an extremely low minimum success rate of the students (3.00) and will lead to a reduction in the amount of the academy's own income“ the inspectors officially state.
Such a financial management organization is a manifestation of a kind of dumping on the educational market, which distorts it and damages universities that work correctly and comply with the rules. At the same time, the state structure itself is damaged and deprived of its own income, which is a crime within the meaning of the Criminal Code.
Despite the fact that the audit report was compiled back in March, the Minister of Education and Science, Prof. Georgi Valchev, has not yet sent it to the prosecutor's office with a request to conduct an inspection. It was Prof. Miroslav Dachev who, after a series of unsuccessful attempts to register as chairman of the Association of State Higher Education Institutions, replaced the former rector of Sofia University, Prof. Valchev, after his election by Rumen Radev as a member of the cabinet. Professor Dachev became the initiator of challenging the legitimacy of the official university organization - the Council of Rectors, as his predecessor, already as a new minister, reaffirmed the theses he had put forward in response to a parliamentary question. This caused legal chaos and conflicts among the academic community. The protesting students of NATFIZ, for their part, recently issued a scathing statement highlighting the dependencies between the two and the conflicts of interest it leads to.
