Saturday, 9 July 2011
Tigran Sarkisyan: “Public funds will go to those universities providing qualitative education”
Prime minister Tigran Sargsyan attended today the closing ceremony of the international summer school as started in Tsakhkadzor on July 3 referred to as “The students’ role and participation in the Bologna process.”
Meeting with some 100 students representative of 15 countries, the head of government answered their questions.
Welcoming those present, Tigran Sargsyan presented the reforms carried out in the sphere of education. As he said, education should be continuous in the modern world. “People should study constantly during their lifetime, and the educational system of any State should be built this way,” the Prime Minister noted and went on to emphasize that the educational system should be based on modern knowledge. As he said, a central role in this chain is played by universities.
Evoking the Lisbon declarations which describe the role of universities in society, Tigran Sargsyan said they are intended not only for educating people, but also for connecting knowledge with society.
The head of government further said that such society is deemed to be educated which can state possibly greater number of innovations during a year. “We used to have some one hundred public and private universities in Armenia most of which failed to meet elementary academic standards. As a first step of reform, we established strict criteria. The proposed requirements covered premises and infrastructures, as well as availability of highly skilled teaching staff. The following question may arise: what would competition be like if such universities appeared on the market? We say competition should be fair with the State refraining from interfering in this process by means of its financial “injections,” the Prime Minister noted adding that proper accreditation services are needed to that effect.
According to the head of government, the accrediting entity should have the necessary skills. “Accreditation means that the eligible universities are of top quality. The universities so accredited shall provide additional incentives for future students to choose between the existing high schools,” the Prime Minister emphasized stating that either the universities are supposed to be stakeholders in this process by operating exchange of students and promoting a network of worldwide education.
Emphasizing the students’ role, Tigran Sargsyan said forums like this are crucial in this respect. The head of government assured that the government would continue holding summer schools in Armenia.
Addressing the students, the Prime Minister stated in part: “Try to get high-quality education by mastering knowledge and you will surely find a niche on the labor market.”
Besides the Ministry of Education and Science, the Youth Fund and the Students’ Association of Armenia were involved in the preparations for the summer school.
Note that Armenia and Poland will be presiding over the Bologna process from July 1 to December 31, 2011.
