“The actions attributed to us have become their main signature”: Armen Ashotyan on the government

The current government pursues two main objectives: the first is to employ their close associates fitting into their own model, and the second is to make the degree of manageability of the educational system absolute. This was stated in an interview with NEWS.am by Armen Ashotyan, vice-president of the Republican Party of Armenia and former Minister of Education and Science.

“The treacherous government accuses us of appointing friends and acquaintances to positions. There have been some cases in the past, but the main accusations directed at us are related to the politicization of the educational system and the filling of management bodies with our own people. From the very first moment they seized power, the actions attributed to us became their essential signature,” noted Ashotyan.

According to him, this has primarily manifested itself in the higher education system. “In the past, they accused us of having members from the Republican Party in the management councils of universities, but later it became clear that their lists of councils exclusively included their own people—both deputies from their faction and representatives of the executive authority. Council members began to be elected primarily on the basis of political loyalty rather than professional qualifications. Previously, representatives from non-government parties could also become part of management councils—such as from the Prosperous Armenia Party or the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. During my time as minister, non-Republican deputies also became members of university management councils. For instance, Naira Zohrabyan at the Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinematography, and there were also members from the Prosperous Armenia Party in the governing council of the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture, and ARF members at Valery Bryusov State University of Language and Social Sciences. Now, appointments are exclusively being made from among their own people,” he emphasized.

Addressing the issues within the general education system, Armen Ashotyan pointed out that the situation is even more horrifying here. “They are resolving issues to subjugate the educational system and provide employment for their loyalists. Since May 2018, the educational system has found itself in a state of complete unmanageability. For example, Yerevan State University has been without a rector for quite some time and prior to that, it didn’t even have a management council, which was formed with great difficulty and in violation of the law. Such problems also exist in other universities,” he stated.

When asked why he believes the government appoints loyalists in the educational system, Ashotyan remarked that there could be various motives behind such actions. “Impudence has become the hallmark of this government. Since they sense their impending downfall, they are trying to place their people wherever they can. To me, placing a suitable candidate in a rural school is of the same political logic as appointing Lilit Makunts as ambassador to the USA,” he added.

It should be noted that for the past few days, teachers and students at the Khachatur Abovian Primary School No. 1 in Abovyan have been protesting against the results of executive director elections. They are organizing strikes, and the educational process is in a paralyzed state.