Draft law demands special status for Yerevan State University

YEREVAN, February 10. /ARKA/. The Yerevan State University (YSU), the alma mater and the locomotive of the higher education in Armenia, should have a special status, Education, Science, Culture and Sports Minister Vahram Dumanyan said in parliament on Wednesday.

The Armenian parliament was considering today a bill on higher education and science, which along with other changes, calls for granting a special status to YSU.

According to the bill, designed by the ministry, because of its exclusive role, the status, activities and funding of YSU are to be determined by the government.

An MP from the ruling My Step bloc Gevorg Papoyan asked the minister why the YSU must be granted a special status and funding. He also asked whether the experience of other countries, for example, USA, France or England, had been reviewed when drafting the bill.

“You don't have to look for everything in the USA, France or England. We have history and traditions, and the YSU is not an ordinary institution that has a stamp and a bank account - it is a history of traditions,” Dumanyan said.

As an example of a university with special status, he pointed out the Moscow State University in Russia.

“All over the world, Western universities are not called alma mater, as we call YSU. It is the locomotive, the mother and father of the university system in Armenia, and many other universities in Armenia originated from it,” Dumanyan said.

In response, Papoyan noted that it is necessary to judge the quality of the university by objective indicators, in particular, by how many students are studying, what is the demand for them in the labor market, how many of them found work immediately after graduation. According to MP, the draft law reflects Soviet traditions, prompted solely by memories.

In response, the minister expressed regret, noting that no university in the world has students on their boards, as is the case in Armenia. -0-