site.btaEducation Minister Heard in Parliament on NATFA Protests

Education and Science Minister Georgi Valchev responded to questions related to recent protests staged by students of the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA) during Question Time on Friday. Valchev responded to questions by Continue the Change MPs Velislav Velichkov and Nikolay Denkov.

Velichkov demanded Valchev’s personal assessment of an alleged risk posed to NATFA's further participation in the European university alliance FilmEU. Valchev was called upon to explain what measures his Ministry would take to manage the risk and to improve the academic process. According to Velichkov, the present crisis was caused both by the actions and inactions of NATFA Rector Prof. Miroslav Dachev.

In response to Velichkov’s concerns, the Education Minister stressed that the Governing Board had made no formal decision to remove NATFA from the alliance. According to him, the irregularities found during the inspections did not present a danger to NATFA’s participation in the project. “The Education Ministry strictly fulfills its obligations to adhere to the academic autonomy principle, defined in both the Higher Education Act and the Constitution, due to which he could not interfere in the relations between different academic entities," Valchev added.

Following a complaint alleging irregularities filed by six NATFA lecturers on January 21, 2026, the Ministry’s Internal Audit Unit initiated inspections covering the period between January 1, 2023 and September 30, 2025. Valchev pointed out that the audit indicated a lack of regulated operating rules for the Board of Trustees, initially required under the Higher Education Act. There was also non-compliance with the internal regulations regarding the minimum number of students per group.

The reported expenditure under the FilmEU+ project until  September 30, 2025 amounted to over EUR 480,000, while deficiencies in internal controls led to undue payments and improper accounting of expenditure worth more than EUR 53,000.

Valchev underscored that NATFA remained a full member of the project and, as such, fulfilled its requirements under the grant agreement. No data indicated that there was a breach of the contract.

Simultaneously, the alliance coordinator expressed concerns about NATFA’s future membership in the project. In a formal letter dated July 17, he noted that the required  institutional involvement in the alliance's dialogue and governance was insufficient. This brought up discussions about whether to phase out NATFA’s membership or to change the academy’s current status.

MP Nikolay Denkov asked Valchev whether NATFA’s Rector has had committed to fulfilling the alliance’s board requirements and whether the Ministry undertook actions regarding the selection procedure issue. The Education Minister responded that Dachev agreed to personally engage in a meeting so that any misconceptions concerning the situation could be resolved.

Valchev called for no further political escalation of the situation.

On July 30, NATFA students staged the latest of a series of protests before the facility’s building in Sofia, under the title #OstavkaGathering (#ResignationGathering). They demanded Dachev’s resignation once again. A meeting between him and protestors was organized by the Ministry of Education and the National Representation of Student Councils on July 15. During the meeting  Dachev denied the existence of motives threatening NATFA's participation in the European FilmEU alliance, while protesting students expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of transparency and constructive dialogue.