Criminal Case Regarding Forged Official Documents at Shirak State University Sent to Court

The preliminary investigation of the criminal case concerning the forgery of official documents at the Shirak State University named after M. Nalbandyan has concluded. According to the public relations department of the prosecutor's office, based on the collected evidence during the pre-trial investigation, it has been established that the acting rector of the Shirak State University, E. S., during the 2018-2019 academic year, while serving as the director-deputy rector of the center for managing the educational-methodological process, had assumed the duties of an associate professor of theoretical and mathematical sciences in the department of mathematics, physics, and information technology with a 0.5 teaching load until August 31, 2019.

It was revealed that for the specified academic year, in the 2nd semester for the first-year biology specialization students in the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, he was obligated to conduct a total of 66 classes; however, he did not fulfill the assigned lectures, practical sessions, and examinations within that framework. Instead of initiating a legal process to transfer his responsibilities to another employee, he verbally agreed with the acting head of the department of mathematics, physics, and information technology, V. M., to have him complete these duties, which V. M. carried out.

In that context, E. S. signed and forged the official document of the course, the class schedule, creating the illusion that his assigned responsibilities were actually fulfilled. Subsequently, under the condition that V. M. would conduct two interim assessments of the specified course students in 2019, he also signed and forged the multifactorial assessment report for the physics subject of the first-year students in the second semester and submitted it to the faculty dean, B. P. The latter, after being informed of E. S.'s failure to fulfill those obligations, confirmed it with his signature and the faculty seal.

Then, in order to cover up the fact of not fulfilling the specified teaching load, E. S. forged the 'Individual Plan of the Teacher's Work' document in July 2019, which contained false information regarding the fulfillment of his assigned 383-hour workload, which he submitted to the acting head of the department, the dean, the director-deputy rector of the center for managing the educational-methodological process, and the director of the center for scientific policy, quality assurance, and management, who approved it.

For these alleged criminal acts, charges have been brought against E. S., the acting head of the department of mathematics, physics, and information technology, V. M., and the dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, B. P., under Article 325, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. A preventive measure of not leaving the country has been applied to them. The accusatory conclusion was confirmed by the prosecutor of the Shirak region supervising the legality of the pre-trial investigation, and on July 31, the criminal case was sent to the first instance court of general jurisdiction of Shirak region for substantive examination.

Notice: The person suspected or accused of the alleged crime is presumed innocent until their guilt is proven by the procedure established by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia by the court's final verdict.