A1 Plus | 16:35:16 | 16-11-2004 | Social |

STUDENTS FIGHTING AGAINST CORRUPTION

During September-October of 2004 ARF `Nikol Aghbalyan’ Student Union
held a survey on `Corruption in Institutes of Higher Education of
Armenia’ among the 1100 students of 11 state institutes of higher
education of Armenia.

‘The aim of the survey was to find out what students thought about
corruption in their colleges, which reasons of college corruption they
stress, which of the phases in education process they consider more
corrupted, which of structures they underline for fighting against
college corruption and what their personal willingness is to struggle
against the fallacious phenomenon’, Karen Antashyan, member of `Nikol
Aghbalyan’ Student Union said.

Under the survey, 47% of the persons surveyed are pessimistic and think
corruption has always been in colleges and will be.

Students cited low wages of lecturers, draft evasion by students and
patronage of IHE leadership as the reasons for college corruption.

43% of the surveyed students expressed willingness to partake in any
initiative for fighting with corruption, 25% finds actions must be taken
against college corruption but excluded own participation in the
process, and 32% thinks all the initiatives for that purpose will fail.

Only in Armenian State Institute of Physical Training 5 lecturers have
been dismissed for corruption. No lecturer has been discharged from
other colleges – maybe there is no corruption there?

Members of ARF `Nikol Aghbalyan’ Student Union think the rest of youth
unions will join them and will fight more actively against corruption.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress