ARMENIA TO JOIN BOLONIA AGREEMENT IN MAY

YEREVAN, MARCH 24, NOYAN TAPAN. In May Armenia will sign the
Bolonia agreement and will join the educational zone of 50 European
countries. Sergo Yeritsian, RA Minister of Education and Science,
declared this at the March 23 meeting in the Culture Faculty of
Yerevan Pedagogical University after Kh.Abovian. He gave assurance
that joining the European educational processes Armenia doesn’t
step aside from the national traditions as the teaching of all the
subjects in the country’s higher schools is based on the national
grounds. Sergo Yeritsian also mentioned that all the higher schools
of the country will pass to the bimodal method of education in the
future. It is only applied in 3 higher schools at present, Yerevan
State University, Armenian Engineering University and Armenian
Agricultural Academy. Besides, cardinal reforms in the sphere of
comprehensive education began, which will provide the fluent passage of
school-leavers from schools to higher schools. It was mentioned that
according to the Bolonia agreement, in 2010 the country’s educational
reforms at all levels are to finish. Besides, Armenia also ratified the
Lisbon convention, according to which the diplomas of Armenian higher
schools will be recognized in all European countries. Hovik Hoveyan,
RA Minister of Culture, accompanying Sergo Yeritsian, represented
the situation in the regional art and music schools. In particular,
it was mentioned that only 174 out of 232 schools transferred to the
communities in 1996 work. According to the Minister, in the future
the Ministry is to work out mechanisms of return of the cultural
institutions to the management of the Ministry of Culture.