We Were Angered by the Prime Minister's Words: Anaida Movsisyan

Students at Yerevan State University (YSU) have declared a strike against a bill that would make the subjects "Armenian Language," "Armenian History," and "Armenian Literature" non-mandatory in academic programs.

Vardan Petrosyan, a lecturer at the Faculty of Philology, considered the students' initiative timely and justified. According to him, the quality of education in schools should be improved first before considering making these subjects optional at the university level. The Armenian language, literature, and history are subjects that help shape the national identity.

Narine Dilbaryan, an associate professor in the Chair of Armenian Language, also commented on the comparison with universities like Harvard and others, stating that it should first be considered how much funding and conditions have been provided for students and faculty at Harvard before requiring a level of education from us that Harvard has already surpassed.

Anaida Movsisyan, a lecturer at the Armenian Language Chair of the Faculty of Philology, remarked, "We were angered by the Prime Minister's words. The bill is still in the discussion phase, yet he speaks of it as if it were a predetermined verdict. The issue has not even been discussed with the lecturers," she said.

Students who organized and participated in the initiative mentioned that if they do not achieve results, they are prepared to hold protests in front of the Ministry and the Government buildings.