Few Bulgarian students, teachers and scientists make use of the academic exchange programme Erasmus.

The Erasmus programme was established in 1987. It aims at encouraging and supporting academic mobility of university students and instructors within the European Union (EU).

The programme attracted 154 000 students and 23 000 instructors from EU countries in the period from 2005 to 2006, Dnevnik daily reported.

Bulgaria has sent only 882 students and 414 teachers to take part in the proramme for the same period. Because of its low participation, received the criticism of European commissioner Danuta Hubner.

Educational programmes of Bulgarian universities hardly correspond to those in the other EU countries, one of the reasons for the low participation of Bulgaria in Erasmus initiatives, Erasmus coordinator for Bulgaria Andriana Kostadinova said.

Another problem is the provision of funds for Bulgarian universities, Kostadinova said.

Academic mobility is one of the most important criteria for the competitiveness of universities, Kostadinova said. According to statistics more than 1.5 million people have traveled within EU from the beginning of Erasmus programme.