I do not recommend Sofia University, Bulgaria's Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, said Thursday.

Djankovs statement was made at the Bulgarian University of National and World Economy (UNWE), during a public lecture on the reforms in the higher education.

The minister said that the reforms should follow certain priorities, one of them being the division of academics and finances. He pointed out that every university should have an executive director, responsible for the financial development.

"This might not be a problem for UNWE, but it is a significant one for many other [Bulgarian] universities," Djankov said, adding that hiring an executive director would help universities focus on the academics and education, rather than finding answers to the questions "how and whether the heating could be paid."

Talking about the student mobility, Djankov told UNWE students that he does not recommend going to Sofia University.

The minister also suggested that the 15% of student influence in the governance of universities should be increased to 30%. He also pointed out that the focus of the reform in the education should not be set on professors, but on the students and their career development.

"It should be the same with the reforms in the health care. The focus should be on the patients, not the doctors," Djankov said.

He also stated that the Open Society Institute has helped developing a detailed system for evaluation of departments in the different universities, which would help perspective students have a better idea of the ranking of the university of their choice.

Depending on their rating, the different schools will receive a different amount of state subsidy, the minister said. In his words, this would introduce the market principle in the higher education and would ensure that only the best universities in the countries will continue working.

Sofia University Saint Kliment Ohridski is the oldest university in Bulgaria and until recently the most prestigious one. 

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