Education will be raised into a priority by the necessity of life

Boyan Bioltchev was born on December 11, 1942 in Sofia. He graduated in Polish Philology from the Jagelon University in Krakow, Poland. Masters degree under Prof. Kazimierz Wyka (1968).
Postgraduate student at Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, 1969. Teaches at the university since 1972. Professor, doctor of philology (1996).
Head of the Department of Slavic Literatures since 1992. Vice rector (1991-1993), dean of the Faculty of Slavic Philology (1995–1999). In 1999 elected Rector of St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, re-elected in 2003.
Chairman of the Comparative Literature section to the International Congress of Slavists, member of Plato Academy. Bearer of Prof. Marin Drinov honorary badge of the Bulgarian Academy of Science, Stara Planina Order 1st class, and other high distinctions.
Author of more than 200 scholarly publications, 6 film scripts, nearly 20 books of which 15 books of fiction (The Garden of Uncle Bloom, The Eyes Cry, Saturn Circle, Sweet Nothing, Aurochs Grass, Letters from Paradise, The Amazonian of Varoe, etc.). Some of his novels and short stories are translated in several world languages.
Two of his scripts won international awards: Silver Laceno for Devil’s Weapon (1985), Golden Laceno for A Call for Help (1987) in Avelino, Italy, 1987. Author of the script of the ten-series documentary The Slav Civilization, co-production of the Bulgarian National Television and RAI, directed by the world-known Folco Quilici. The film is distributed in 136 countries.

Scholar, writer, expert in literature, (some even think he is a historian, but he is not, at least not professionally)… A more than favorable symbiosis. His monographs are written in a language akin to fiction. Beyond the Myth: Adam Bernard Mickiewicz, Between the Mien of Folk Prophet and Homo Ludens reads like a novel. This is why his scholarly studies have broader readership than the circle of specialists. On the other hand, his fiction contains much scholarly knowledge. Not manifested, because as Boyan Bioltchev says, “Prose is the building up of a virtual, fictitious world and any pretence at great erudition is deadly.” Nevertheless, with him it transpires. Hemingway has also said something on this point: With the best writers you feel they know a lot, but you can’t see it anywhere stated bluntly.

The rector Bioltchev is also one of a kind. He is not the standard head of a university. At first, they expected him to say something conventional on given occasions, to do something that is usual in a given situation, then they saw it was different every time and now everybody anticipates something new…

Prof. Bioltchev, you have been working in Sofia University since 1969. You were vice rector, dean of the Faculty of Slavic Philologies, this is your second mandate as Rector of Alma Mater. What difficulties have you surmounted and what brought you satisfaction in the past period?
I joined the university management rather late. Until then my attention was focused in other areas of life; I was involved mostly with the Union of Writers. Since 1991 I have been steadily in the management of the university and I don’t regret it, despite the difficulties. Joys are for everyone, while the difficulties come when the principal sees his impotence to cope with the bad inertias in the state, with the lack of appreciation of the importance of education, the unawareness of something crucial, namely that this is the biggest and most surely returning investment in a country.

What has changed in Sofia University, and what traditions have been preserved?
Since I became rector, the conduct and self-confidence of the lecturers and the leadership changed and they started raising their voices in defense of ideas which concern not just the university but Bulgaria as a whole and the way this country is going to develop. Sofia University always was a corrective of statehood and a temple of Bulgarian spirituality. It has never ceased being such a temple but it had somewhat neglected its role of corrective and I think I have a contribution in this respect.

During my mandate the academic tone of relations and respect for academic norms were legitimized, and this is very important for a national university. The way of life, the way the university activities are carried out is a permanent tradition, which is renewed. Severing of traditions would mean death of the institution. I am happy that although there were hard periods in the life of the university, it never lost its link with the inherited academic tradition and in this respect I had a stable base.

Is Sofia University still the most prestigious higher school in Bulgaria and how does it keep up its high level amidst the general crisis of education?
I have no doubt that Sofia University is distinct from all other higher schools in Bulgaria. Structurally, it is the only one that meets the requirements of a comprehensive university. It is also distinct in the percentage of habilitated staff, and the intellectual qualification of the students – the most intelligent young people from all parts of Bulgaria come to us. All this, combined with traditions, gives grounds to say that the Bulgarian Alma Mater is housed here, at the Rectorate, in the center of Sofia.

What are the sorest problems of Sofia University?
It is a fact that we spend money for education on the upkeep of monuments of culture. The subsidies are calculated per student, but they may go to a higher school, which has rented or owns a bare building. And naturally would be very insufficient to a university which maintains an aula, for example, where the central heating alone costs the budget of several faculties.

Sofia University is practically a museum of Bulgarian higher education. The diversity of its activity affords an opportunity to streamline resources. Here, figuratively speaking, in one lane we have specialists in the Japanese language and nuclear physicists. For example, in Korean and Japanese Studies we have four or five students and twice as many teachers. It is very easy to close down these specialties, but then, what with Bulgaria?
With extremely scanty financial resources, Sofia University shoulders a hard task concerning the prestige of Bulgaria as an intellectually highly advanced country. This is underestimated. The University is pressed, like all the others, by the bureaucratic thinking that we shall bring out our reserves and shall not dissipate. But you can’t dissipate something that isn’t there. Furthermore, the sum for training a student has not been updated in the last five years, and there is inflation, extra overhead expenses.

It is not normal to form the university budget mainly on the basis of the number of students. We have many professors and habilitated lecturers on the academic staff, but we receive no money for our highly qualified cadres. This means that the budget stimulates low-grade training.

Is humanitarian education losing popularity in the present-day world of exact sciences?
Across the world, the main activities and the industrial sphere itself are being humanized. Psychologists are sine qua non in economy. A serious correlation has been established between the mental state, between one’s way of thinking and one’s activity, even in the most technocratic fields. Consequently, we cannot be an exception in a trend that marks the development of the contemporary civilized world. By the way, the prospering faculties at the moment are the faculty of philosophy, primary school and preschool pedagogy, and of late the faculty of mathematics and informatics.
The humanities will not be a burden to the university. I hope that it is man’s inherent desire to do meaningful things, and financial stability cannot but urge many to make their lives more meaningful, and it becomes more meaningful by getting in touch with the spiritual.

Is Sofia University autonomous?
In 1991, in the confused time they “let us slip” and voted an autonomy act and ever since all governments have been trying to “bite off pieces” from the university autonomy. Ultimately, it is fictitious, because real autonomy is financial autonomy. We are not self-dependent financially, the university is a secondary distributor of its budget – it comes from the Ministry of Finance via the Ministry of Education and Science. We have autonomy only for our programs, which are nevertheless corrected – in line with the state requirements and other things.