Panorama.am

14:41 24/11/06

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OPENS A CASE AGAINST
UNREGISTERED ACADEMY

Minister of education and science, Levon Lazarian,
said the European Academy in Armenia has not been
accredited as a private establishment and its
curriculum is not approved by the state in the case
when the first graduates will be in the year 2006. The
minister is concerned what kind of certificates the
students will get. The ministry has sent letters to
different educational establishments in Europe which
were supposedly taken part in the founding assembly
but the latter refused saying they never participated
in such meeting. Some, particularly from embassies,
said they were invited as guests. One of the two
German organizations, which supposedly initiated the
academy, is liquidated whereas the other `is involved
in financial manipulations and is closed,’ German
embassy in Armenia said.

The ministry decided to apply to court to find out the
grounds on which the academy was formed. `I have never
see more absurd situation in education,’ the minister
said. While the court may find out the responsible
persons, we must only mention that the chairman of
board of directors of the academy is ex-speaker of the
National Assembly, Arthur Baghdasaryan. The average
tuition in the academy is $700. The ministry has made
no claims on compensation yet. /Panorama.am/