ArmInfo. On November 6, students of the Faculty of Armenian Philology of YSU hold a strike in protest against the upcoming draft law "On Higher Education and Science", which was developed by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia.
Note that according to the bill, the Armenian language and literature, the history of Armenia will not be included in the list of compulsory disciplines in the curricula of non-core faculties of universities. Instead, universities will be able to increase hours devoted to the study of other specialized disciplines. Students of Armenian philology at YSU note that today's protest rally is a warning signal to the ministry, the message of which is that when making such decisions, the opinions of students and teaching staff would be taken into account.
Protesting students also said that if the head of the ministry, Araik Harutyunyan, did not take into account the students' opinions, they would continue to boycott the classes. Lecturer of the Faculty of Armenian Philology of YSU Vardan Petrosyan believes the initiative is correct and timely, saying that the students' protest is aimed at protecting the Armenian language - as a national language.
In turn, YSU teacher, a specialist in the ancient Armenian language (grabar) and journalist Narine Dilbaryan said that there really are a lot of serious problems in the country, but after the "velvet revolution" there are more and more questions. <Dissatisfaction is not unfounded. The new generation is thinking about Armenia, about where they will work and how to develop>, the teacher explained.
Earlier, in a conversation with ArmInfo, the famous teacher of the Waldorf School of Yerevan and a teacher of YSU History Department, art critic Ara Atayan expressed the opinion that the Armenian language should be studied in universities only if it is professionally necessary, since there is a 12-year-old school program very rich in Armenian studies. And each step aimed at improving the education system should not be faced with the fierce resistance of conservatives.
Meanwhile, the Ministry promptly responded to the strike of YSU linguists, noting in its statement that according to the working draft law of the Republic of Armenia "On Higher Education and Science", each university has the right, at its discretion, to do or not do subjects <Armenian language>, <Armenian literature > and <History of Armenia> are required to study.
<Despite the fact that during the working discussion of the bill, universities in the country practically did not react with comments or suggestions, nevertheless, the bill provides wide autonomy to universities in the development of educational and scientific programs. Therefore, after the adoption of the law, the Scientific Council of each university has the right to make its own decision on this matter. At the same time, the working draft clearly articulates the principles: the priority of Armenian studies, the training of specialists for the diaspora in order to develop Armenology and the dissemination of Armenian cultural heritage, the rooting of national identity and universal values. It is also envisaged to provide basic financing to universities in order to preserve and develop scientific infrastructures. In addition, for admission to any university in Armenia, RA citizens, regardless of their chosen profession, are required to pass a single exam in the Armenian language.
Thus, the draft law not only does not reduce the role of Armenian studies and the Armenian language, but, on the contrary, consolidates the dissemination of these important values and enhances the training of relevant specialists>, the ministry said in a statement.