How an Inexperienced Young Man from Ijevan Became Department Head: "Hraparak"

"Hraparak" newspaper writes, "On July 1, an individual named Haik Kamalyan from Ijevan was elected as the head of the Department of Higher Mathematics at the Armenian State University of Economics. According to our Ijevan sources, he is closely connected to the family of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

We were told that the former department head, Mher Aghalovyan, who held the position for about five years, from 2017 to 2022, and enjoys the respect of both students and faculty members at the University, did not put forward his candidacy. However, this was not a voluntary decision; he was compelled not to run, allowing the inexperienced young man, who is only 32 years old, to become the head of this important department.

According to our information, Mher Aghalovyan was instructed from “above” not to try his luck and not to put forward his candidacy, as it was decided that Haik Kamalyan should be appointed to this position. Mher Aghalovyan, the son of Academician Lenser Aghalovyan, is also not very old, having not yet turned 50. However, unlike Kamalyan, he is a Doctor of Sciences and has successfully led the department for five years, while department heads usually serve long terms.

And why should they not serve, if they have not failed, justified themselves, and the department is operating normally? What is the logic behind appointing a 32-year-old candidate as department head? It is clear that behind this is ordinary patronage, coming directly from the Prime Minister. The only advantage of Kamalyan seems to be his Ijevan origin; we did not find any other remarkable facts in his biography.

He has served as a lecturer at the Ijevan branch of YSU and then joined the Armenian State University of Economics. Continuously and until now, he works with candidates preparing for university entrance exams. Haik Kamalyan's father, Arthur Kamalyan, was once the mayor of Ijevan. According to our information, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is particularly close to the brother of Arthur Kamalyan.

Haik Kamalyan initially promised us that he would meet and answer all our questions, but hours later, he announced in a rather aggressive tone that he was not going to talk to us. When we tried to inquire by phone whether being from Ijevan was the secret to becoming the head of the department, he became upset, saying not to ask manipulative questions.

We also contacted the rector of ASUE, Diana Galoyan, who stated that the election of the department head took place on July 1, and Haik Kamalyan was appointed. However, in her opinion, there is nothing extraordinary about this appointment. "Haik Kamalyan has been chosen for this position, what’s wrong with that?"

When asked why the former head did not put forward his candidacy and why Kamalyan was the only candidate for the position, the rector mentioned, "I asked Mr. Aghalovyan why he did not put forward his candidacy; he replied that he was tired and no longer wished to continue."

The rector did not want to answer further questions, indicating that she was extremely busy and could not talk for long.

This story would be incomplete if we did not present its background to our readers. The fact is that until 2017, the head of this department was Arkadi Hayrapetyan, a long-time scientist with a PhD in physical-mathematical sciences. He is a compatriot of Barsegh Beglaryan and is a protégée. When the time came in 2017 to elect a department head, Barsegh from Flash could not get his protégé elected again.

At that time, Varuj Petak, or Varujan Grigoryan, was stronger and pushed for his candidate, while Hayrapetyan was barred from presenting his candidacy. True, Mher Aghalovyan justified himself and indeed worked well, but his position began with injustice, and now we can say that the boomerang has returned to him. But that is not the issue; rather, this government does not lag behind its predecessors in continuing flawed traditions. One thing has changed; now undeserving and low-quality personnel are being placed in high positions.