THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY REDUCED INTEREST RATES ON STUDENT LOANS
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Photo: BGNES
The National Assembly adopted amendments to the Student and Doctoral Credit Act, which reduce the interest rate on student loans from 7% to no higher than 3%. The decision was supported unanimously by 176 MPs and aims to make student financing more accessible and actually usable for young people in Bulgaria.
The amendments also provide for the state to assume the repayment of a student loan upon the birth or adoption of a second child, as well as the introduction of sanctions for violation of standard contracts by banks. According to the submitters, the current interest rate of 7 percent has made student loans meaningless against the background of significantly lower interest rates on mortgage and consumer loans. It was emphasised that the loans are state-guaranteed and practically risk-free for banks, and the financial effect for the budget is limited.
The parliament's decision comes in a context that is familiar and significant for the academic community of Varna Free University "Chernorizets Hrabar". Back in July 2021, at the initiative of the University's Student Council, a purposeful expert and student debate was launched to improve the legislative framework of student lending. The working meeting involved students and lecturers from various higher education institutions in the country, including Prof. Daniela Bobeva, Prof. Dimitar Kanev D.Sc. and Assoc. Prof. Eleonora Tankova, PhD as well as representatives of the student councils of PU "Paisiy Hilendarski", UNWE and the University of Finance, Business and Entrepreneurship (VUZF).
Improving student financing conditions was identified as a key tool for addressing high youth unemployment and dropouts caused by financial reasons. The working group, which included students from Varna, Plovdiv and Sofia, set itself the goal of analysing international experience and formulating reasoned proposals for changes.
The amendments adopted today show that the topic of student lending is gradually finding institutional resonance. For Varna Free University, this is a confirmation of the consistent role of the student and academic community in raising socially significant issues and in defending the right of more young people to have access to higher education.