Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski is the first institution of higher education in Bulgaria. The first step towards its foundation was the opening of a Course in Pedagogy at the First Secondary School for Boys in Sofia in 1887. Due to the success of this teacher-training course,the National Assembly issued a decree at the end of 1888, transforming the course into a School of Higher Education. In 1904 a decree by Prince Ferdinand turned it into a university that was given the name of St. Kliment Ohridski a year later. For more than a century Sofia University has been the national foremost centre for university education and research in both fundamental theoretical and applied areas. Today it is the largest university in the country with 102 degree programmes offered by 16 faculties. Тhe University has since held a leading position among universities in the country, with the highest rate of student and staff mobilities and the most significant contribution to the maintenance of European standards in higher education.