Rector of Yerevan State University: Bribery appeared when forefathers
of the man descended from the trees

2009-03-13 12:08:00

ArmInfo. Rector of Yerevan State University [YSU], Aram Simonyan, has
categorically come forward against the action within the frames of
which photos of university teachers with a slogan ‘bribetakers’ were
stuck at the streets of Yerevan.

‘I am absolutely sure, it is senseless to fight corruption in such a
way’, – he said at today’s press-conference. First of all, he grew hot
because one cannot prove that teachers are corrupted. ‘If there is no
evidence, no movement can take obligation to unmask the bribetakers.
This is the task of the law-enforcement agencies’, – Simonyan said and
added emotional distress was caused to the teachers
whose photos were stuck in all over the city. ‘It turns out that any
moment each of us may become the victim of false accusation and nobody
will protect us. My life and yours cost less than a cent’, – the rector
said. He said he does not insist there is no bribery in the society, as
bribery appeared when our forefathers descended from the trees. At the
same time Simonyan said that a teacher is also a man and can be also
depraved. ‘What can a teacher feel when he sees that his students
attend classes arriving at expensive motors? But salary of a professor
is 160thsd drams ($400) since the beginning of the current year. Before
blaming teachers for bribery, look what a contingent of students we
have. Some of them cannot even correctly write their name’, – Simonyan
said and added that more than 100 students are dismissed every semester
though their number could be about 4,000. But taking into account small
budget of the University (4 bln drams) the rector cannot dismiss such a
big number of students as each of them pay 250,000 drams per year for
their education. Simonyan wonders why when fighting corruption the
government raises salary of judges but not teachers.