Rules For Licensing Private Universities To Be Tightened In Armenia
07.10.2011,
04:16
Armenian National Assembly passed today the package of amendments to the higher and post-graduate professional education and on licensing at the first reading.
YEREVAN, October 6. /ARKA/. Armenian National Assembly passed today the package of amendments to the higher and post-graduate professional education and on licensing at the first reading.
These amendments imply tighter rules for licensing of private universities.
Education and Science Minister Armen Ashotyan, presenting the bill to lawmakers, said that the ministry proposes substantial revision of the licensing process.
“We must react to any breach of license terms by taking decisive actions to ensure proper quality to education,” he said.
The authors of the amendments propose to oblige licensees to submit reports and the information confirming that their universities are located in the places indicated in their applications.
Ashotyan said that many university owners who have got their licenses in Yerevan by saying they will run education process in buildings which meet certain requirements, in fact run their activities outside of the capital in improperly equipped buildings.
Our laws imply no instruments for imposing sanctions in such cases.
The bill also proposes to differentiate licenses for running the education process ending in provision of bachelor degree and the education resulting in provision of master degree.
“There is only one license for providing higher education without differentiation between bachelor and master degrees, while they differ from each other by programs and requirements to them,” Ashotyan said.
The bill proposes to indicate education methods.
The minister said that it is necessary to amend also the law on state duty to oblige universities to pay annual duty for their licenses. If so, the university owners will be responsible for their licenses and education in the specialties they indicate in their applications.
“Sometimes one university simultaneously provides medical juridical, economic, pedagogical and veterinary education,” Ashotyan said. “There are also universities having dozens of licenses but providing education in four or five specialties.”
The proposed amendments also empower the education ministry to warn and fine licensees as well as to void their licenses. Universities, on their side, can dispute the ministry’s decision in court.
“There were some 90 private universities in Armenia in 2000,” the minister said. “Only 70 of them remained in 2009, and now, thanks to our policy, universities are merging, and their number has already contracted to 35. But even this number is too large for our small country, and obvious is that existing resources are insufficient for providing high-quality education in these 35 private and 22 state-owned and interstate universities.” –0—
These amendments imply tighter rules for licensing of private universities.
Education and Science Minister Armen Ashotyan, presenting the bill to lawmakers, said that the ministry proposes substantial revision of the licensing process.
“We must react to any breach of license terms by taking decisive actions to ensure proper quality to education,” he said.
The authors of the amendments propose to oblige licensees to submit reports and the information confirming that their universities are located in the places indicated in their applications.
Ashotyan said that many university owners who have got their licenses in Yerevan by saying they will run education process in buildings which meet certain requirements, in fact run their activities outside of the capital in improperly equipped buildings.
Our laws imply no instruments for imposing sanctions in such cases.
The bill also proposes to differentiate licenses for running the education process ending in provision of bachelor degree and the education resulting in provision of master degree.
“There is only one license for providing higher education without differentiation between bachelor and master degrees, while they differ from each other by programs and requirements to them,” Ashotyan said.
The bill proposes to indicate education methods.
The minister said that it is necessary to amend also the law on state duty to oblige universities to pay annual duty for their licenses. If so, the university owners will be responsible for their licenses and education in the specialties they indicate in their applications.
“Sometimes one university simultaneously provides medical juridical, economic, pedagogical and veterinary education,” Ashotyan said. “There are also universities having dozens of licenses but providing education in four or five specialties.”
The proposed amendments also empower the education ministry to warn and fine licensees as well as to void their licenses. Universities, on their side, can dispute the ministry’s decision in court.
“There were some 90 private universities in Armenia in 2000,” the minister said. “Only 70 of them remained in 2009, and now, thanks to our policy, universities are merging, and their number has already contracted to 35. But even this number is too large for our small country, and obvious is that existing resources are insufficient for providing high-quality education in these 35 private and 22 state-owned and interstate universities.” –0—
