Balgarianovinite.com 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. Education Minister Heard in Parliament on NATFA Protests 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-07-31 16:06:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
