Armenian Educational Reforms In Line With Tempus Program

ARMENIAN EDUCATIONAL REFORMS IN LINE WITH TEMPUS PROGRAM

ARKA
April 18, 2008

YEREVAN, April 18. /ARKA/. Armenia’s higher educational reforms
are based on the TEMPUS program, RA Minister for Education Levon
Lazarian reported.

Armenia adopted the European Commission’s (EC) TEMPUS higher
educational program in 1995. As part of the program, 26 large-scale
projects at EUR 4.7mln have been carried out in the country since
2005. In tote, 92 education projects have been completed within the
program in Armenia.

The Minister for Education believes TEMPUS will help totally reform
the higher education system in Armenia.

In his turn, Head of the EC Delegation to Armenia Raul de Lutzenberger
assured Lazarian that the European Union will assist Armenia in the
implementation of the program.

He pointed out that among EU commitments to Armenia is to help the
country enter the European market. The EC Delegation head believes
international quality certificates given to Armenian universities
and institutes can help establish an integrated education field and
promote student exchange programs.

According to YSU (Yerevan State University) Rector Aram Simonyan,
Armenia has been actively cooperating with European educational
institutions within the program. Thanks to TEMPUS, the country’s
three-stage education system is developing at a rapid paste, he
said. Simonyan pointed out that the credit system is also being
implemented in Armenia. The YSU Faculty of Social Work, which has
been established within TEMPUS, can serve an example for the region,
according to the rector.

The European Council will annually allocate EUR 1mln for
the implementation of the Tempus-4 Program (2008-2013) in
Armenia.