Bulgaria's government has decided to swell the number of university students to be admitted in the fall of 2011 by 5 309.

Thus, Bulgarian higher education institutions will admit a total of 71 680 undergraduate and graduate students for the 2011/2012 academic year compared with only 66 371 freshmen that got into universities in 2010.

Wednesday's decision of the Bulgarian government appears to be adding to the depreciation of Bulgarian higher education given the fact that the number of university admissions will be almost equal to the total number of graduating high school seniors, i.e. almost every single applicant will be able to get into a university. The approved 2011 spots for doctoral candidates are 1 965.

The government says its decision to beef up the student admission numbers "is based on the principle for wide access to higher education." It points out that the admission has been increased for "priority fields" such as natural sciences, mathematics, IT, engineering, medicine, and sport.

There are a total of 51 accredited universities in Bulgaria, including 37 state and 14 private institutions.