Changes Will Be Made to the Draft Exemption Procedure

The "Pasts" newspaper reports that a draft has been prepared to establish the procedure and conditions for granting an exemption from mandatory military service call-up to citizens studying in universities with specialties that are priorities and of importance to the state in the fields of Natural Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). This draft is based on amendments made to the law on "Military Service and the Status of Servicemen" through the OH-364-N law dated October 5, 2022.

According to these amendments, "An exemption is also granted upon the Government's decision to citizens studying in universities with specialties that are priorities and of importance to the state in the STEM fields. The Government defines the procedure and conditions for granting exemptions, as well as the list of universities and relevant specialties in STEM fields." The Ministry of Education and Science reminds that under the current procedure, exemptions are granted to citizens studying in bachelor's educational programs if they have won awards in relevant Olympiads and are attending institutions ranked in the top fifty in a given year according to www.shanghairanking.com. In master's and doctoral programs, exemptions are also granted if students have relevant achievements and meet set criteria for significant achievements.

This procedure has been applied more than six times, and the Ministry believes it leads to several illogical consequences, particularly making higher education institutions in Armenia uncompetitive for talented students, resulting in these institutions losing the best students, while the state loses citizens who could apply their knowledge in scientific and professional fields in the future.

The stated regulation also creates social inequality, as many citizens, lacking the necessary financial resources—even with scholarships—cannot obtain the opportunity to receive education through exemption rights despite their knowledge. Considering these and several other issues, the Ministry is confident that the current system for granting exemptions to citizens studying in bachelor's educational programs does not contribute to the development of Armenia's educational system, creates social inequality, and more.

Therefore, based on the aforementioned amendments to the law on "Military Service and the Status of Servicemen", a draft has been developed to establish the procedure and conditions for granting an exemption from compulsory military service to citizens studying in universities with specialties that are priorities and of importance to the state, regulating all relations related to granting exemptions to citizens studying in these important specialties for the state.

For more details, refer to today's issue of the newspaper.