Role of Student Fees and Loa ns in Gaining Access to Higher Education. Germany and Bulgaria in Comparison
Role of Student Fees and Loa ns in Gaining Access to Higher Education. Germany and Bulgaria in Comparison

Summary/Abstract: Recent Changes and Non-changes in Higher Education Since 1989 systematic legislative changes have transformed the institutional relations between the state and higher education in Bulgaria. Parallel to this, public discussion has been going on, both amongst experts and politicians. In this debate, the importance of openness, inclusiveness and access to higher education is underestimated, because it is falsely perceived as socialistic. Taking examples from the reforms in higher education, we will illustrate the tendency that, although liberalization of the state is occurring, the access of individuals to resources relevant to tertiary education (namely access to student loans) has not become a central issue. A key reason for this unequal pace of reforms is society’s growing distrust. In turn, this low level of trust accounts for the prolonged process of enforcement of public policies which would potentially lead to greater opportunities for “individualistic inclusion” in the modern societies (Münch 2008). Western societies are based on constitutional liberalism. The legal discourse increasingly reflects issues of individual rights. In this context the access to higher education is a matter of individual rights. All this increases the interest of the case study of laws on education. The guaranteed opportunity for social participation and equal opportunities is a central goal that educational systems address at the system level1. This goal points to the relationship between education and social structure. The aim is “to minimize the interdependencies between social background and educational, life and income opportunities, and to enhance the social integration and participation of young people in processes that shape the social and political community” (Baethge, Arends 2008:31).

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