Ministry of Education suspends “Stefan Stambolov” program

Although 2.5 million euros were allocated for the Stefan Stambolov Program in 2024, the money remained unused. The new team at the Ministry of Education will not work on it, too. This is stated in a response from the institution, given to a question from the Sega portal.

The idea for the “Stambolov” Fund came from Prime Minister Kiril Petkov in 2022. According to it, the state was to sponsor the education of up to 30 Bulgarians per year at prestigious world universities, provided that they return to work in the country for at least 3 years.

The Council of Rectors has pointed out that financing foreign higher education, especially private education, is illegal. "The program is not included in the 2025 budget and is not planned to be implemented," the ministry said.