There are still severe difficulties in the field of higher education in Bulgaria. One problem is the acute shortage of professors in the areas of engineering and technology in institutions of higher education. At some times the shortage is so extreme that advertisements are placed in the newspapers in order to recruit personnel.
Another difficulty in higher education is overcrowding in the schools and in the cities where the institutions are located. This dilemma is particularly acute in Sofia, where most of the major universities and institutes are located. In school year 1969/70 there were 82,573 students enrolled in higher educational institutions; of this number, 59,130--roughly three-fourths--were in Sofia. As many of the students come to Sofia from other areas of the country, the influx of students has created a severe housing shortage. One solution, which has been explored to some extent in recent years, has been for students to enroll in institutions in major cities to study in their regional areas during the year and come to Sofia only when examinations are given. Approximately one-third of the total student population have studied on this basis.
A more serious problem is the issue of student preferences versus the demands of the economy. Since the government requires trained scientific and technological personnel, there are more admissions in these areas than in the arts. Students, however, have indicated a greater interest in the humanities, but admissions in these areas are few. In 1973 for every place available in the humanities, there were six applicants. For every place available in the sciences, there were only four applicants. The inevitable result of such a policy is the creation of a group of young people who are engaged either in a study not of their choice or who have been dissuaded from the field of higher education altogether.
The most serious problem is the fact that only a small proportion of applicants are accepted in universities and institutes because there are simply not enough facilities available to them. In an average year there are generally 70,000 applicants and only 15,000 acceptances. Thus, roughly 80 percent of all applicants are rejected by the institutions of higher education in Bulgaria. Although students are allowed to reapply at a future date, because they are not generally permitted to study abroad, this overflow has resulted in the problem of the so-called idle youth. At the beginning of 1972 authorities estimated that there were approximately 50,000 of these people. Although the government has attempted to deal with this problem by forcing the idlers to either work or be trained for work--and they have been quite successful, as idlers were estimated to be down from approximately 51,000 to 9,000 in less than six months--they have failed to deal with the root cause of the problem, that is, insufficient places in higher education.