Call to the President: Do Not Sign the ‘Unconstitutional’ Education Law

The National Academy of Sciences and Yerevan State University have released a statement indicating that certain provisions of the law on higher education and science, adopted by the National Assembly, are contrary to the Constitution. The two prestigious institutions have called on the President of Armenia not to sign the law.

On March 24, the National Assembly adopted the controversial draft law on higher education and science, which the President has yet to sign. Prior to this, several universities, including the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU), and Yerevan State University (YSU), had expressed their opposition to the draft law.

Specifically, the statement from the two institutions points out that the amended law stipulates that out of the nine members of the public council of universities, five must be representatives of the relevant minister. This means that the authorized body appoints more than half of the management council and can terminate the powers of its appointed members at any time, thereby placing them completely under its control.

The procedure for forming the management council directly affects the election of the rector. According to the regulations in the law, the rector of a public university is elected by the management council, meaning that the rector can be elected by the five members appointed by the authorized body. As a result, the rector is not elected by the council but is effectively appointed by the authorized body, and the election is merely a legal formality.

This leads to the conclusion that public universities are entirely and unconditionally dependent on political authorities.

Moreover, it is noted that the law introduces age restrictions for holding the position of director of a scientific organization and for administrative and academic positions at universities. The powers of a person elected as the director of a scientific organization are terminated by the competent authority if they have reached the age of 65. This approach is unjustified, as one of the peculiarities of the education and science sector is that the level of scientific and educational experience increases with age, and 65/70 years is not the age at which a scientist can no longer lead scientific or university processes.

The statement from the two institutions also mentions that the law significantly changes the status of the National Academy of Sciences, and moreover, it contains vague definitions regarding that status, which contradict several articles of the Constitution. For example, the law does not define the actual status of the NAS, nor does it guarantee the NAS's autonomy. By formally establishing a provision for the NAS's autonomy in the law, there is a real risk of excluding its effective application.

In this aspect as well, there are provisions in the law that contradict the Constitution.

Interestingly, according to the provisions envisaged by the law, existing management councils will continue to exercise their powers until new councils are formed. After that, their activities will cease. This means that the powers of all members of the governing boards cease at the same moment, regardless of when they were elected to that position and how many years they still have left to serve. This is also considered a violation.

It is worth noting that YSU and NAS have announced that the statement is open for joining by educational organizations and institutions.