STUDENT PROTEST ORGANIZERS WERE MEMBERS OF HERITAGE PARTY: MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

Tert.am
11:36 07.05.10

Armen Ashotyan, Minister of Education and Science of the Republic
of Armenia, has not yet received the appeal-letter of students
protesting against the alleged reduction of placement in magistrate
and post-graduate courses. Ashotyan has come to get familiar with
the content of the letter only from mass media.

The Ministry has issued a statement saying that the organizers of
the protest were representatives of Heritage Party. Further the
statement says that there has been no reduction in the placements in
the magistrates and post-graduate courses (1543 free placements).

For postgraduates courses 224 tuition-free placements were allocated
last year with the right to postpone the course when necessary,
while this year 122 such placements are offered. Besides there are
also 247 tuition-free placements for post-graduates courses without
the right for postponement.

"We think that the organizers of that protest purposefully evade the
fact of the preservation of the state-sponsored placements which can
be regarded as an attempt to mislead their supporters so that they
do not raise the right of postponement, i.e. issues pertaining to the
possible military service in the army and not to be perceived by the
society as non-patriots," the statement reads in part.

Further the Ministry says that it will make additional comments as
soon as it receives the above-mentioned appeal-letter.