These Protests Are Taking on a Political Tinge - Araik Harutyunyan on Those Not Admitted to Universities

For many years, previous governments have been reluctant to implement reforms in the education sector, as this creates a system where applicants have the opportunity to study 2-3 'elite' specialties. They apply there, whether they will be accepted or not, but there are also other specialties available. This was stated by Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport, Araik Harutyunyan, during an interview with Public Television, discussing the protests of applicants who were not admitted to universities and the emergence of this issue.

According to him, experience has shown that those who are not accepted into these 'elite' specialties move in with their high scores to take the places of those who actually intended to pursue those specialties originally. 'And we have had a situation where, for example, in Religious Studies and Theology, for many years, people who wanted to study law graduated, and we had a picture where those admitted to those faculties graduated but did not work in that specialty. There should be a competition among the applicants who applied for the same place,' he said, adding that this is an important reform. He noted that there will be similar changes in the future. According to him, these changes are painful, but these stages must be passed.

When asked why the applicants were not informed about these changes, Harutyunyan replied that the applicant should be familiar with the procedure when filling out the application. 'That is, we neither want to read nor want to listen; rather, through what means should this become accessible?' he stated.

Speaking about the protests organized by the applicants, the minister mentioned that these protests are already taking on a political tinge. 'Because one of the individuals involved and organizing this is one of the supporters of Robert Kocharyan, and I want to warn parents not to fall into these currents,' he noted, adding that one of the organizers' sons had been admitted to a university through a different application, but by using this wave, they are trying to ensure that the son is accepted to the faculty he indicated in his first application.

He stated that many people's problems have already been solved, but many participants in the protests did not expect the meeting with the deputy minister scheduled for Monday, and they had already made harsh statements by Saturday. Harutyunyan emphasized once again that one should not fall for provocations, as in recent protests, more political team members than applicants and their parents have participated.

Addressing the issue of new education standards, which involve the removal of the names of famous authors from school literature courses and replacing the 'Armenian Literature' subject with 'Literature,' he remarked, 'I do not understand where this falsehood and deception are coming from, even when you deny the dissemination of such information, these falsehoods come from important research university centers.' He added that the literary scholar David Gasparyan, who opposes these changes, had himself previously authored textbooks where only 'Literature' was mentioned.

'I want to understand what these manipulations and falsehoods are for, whether to overshadow this entire process; it will not succeed. I understand where this noise is coming from because a large group that previously wrote textbooks and 'secured' our development and non-development in schools is now excluded from these processes,' the minister presented, adding that many teachers who have interacted more with students and know what to convey are now participating in this process.