Arayik Harutyunyan Responds to 'Bright Armenia': What He Has Done Since His Appointment

According to the 'Jamanak' newspaper, the Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of Armenia, Arayik Harutyunyan, has responded to the inquiry from the 'Bright Armenia' parliamentary faction, which was sent to the minister on June 3.

The newspaper has reported that the response consists of 130 pages and several appendices, providing detailed answers to the queries raised by the faction. It is notable that according to paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 121 of the 'Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly', the relevant member of the government sends the written response to the National Assembly president no later than 30 days after receiving the inquiry, per the Prime Minister's instruction.

Particularly, the inquiry raised issues concerning the education, science, and culture sectors that, according to the faction, have not been resolved since Arayik Harutyunyan assumed the ministerial role or have become more acute. The opposition faction specifically highlighted the shortage of teachers in border and border-guarding communities, issues related to the quality of education, teacher retraining, and other matters.

It is worth noting that the opposition faction also inquired about the funding of 'Armat' engineering labs, the results of the 'Ayb' audit not being disclosed to the public, the absence of a rector at the mother university, and the term expired board of trustees.

So, what answers did Minister Harutyunyan provide regarding these questions? In response to the issue related to the 'Ayb' school, the ministry stated: 'The results of the work done have been discussed at the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports, and it has been decided to send the materials regarding the apparent violations to the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia, which has been done by the ministry's letter dated May 4 of this year. After receiving the results of the studies conducted within the framework of the powers granted for the protection of state interests under Article 29 of the Law on the Prosecutor’s Office, the ministry will provide as detailed information as possible.'

Regarding Yerevan State University, the ministry noted: 'The list of members elected by YSU has been sent to the ministry, and now, in accordance with the established procedure, the appointment of members by the government’s authorized body is ongoing, after which the composition of the council will be submitted for the Prime Minister's approval.'

The response also addressed the acting rector of the Economic University, Diana Galoyan. 'The commission formed by the Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports on December 12, 2019, confirmed several borrowings without mentioning the source in its conclusion regarding the study of Diana Galoyan's dissertation, noting that the scientific novelty of the dissertation belongs to the author, and summarized: 'Overall, the dissertation meets the requirements for granting a scientific degree in terms of its content, scientific novelties, and obtained results.'

For more details, see today's edition of the newspaper.