Students studying at universities ranked in top 50 global  universities by Shanghai Rankings could be exempt from military  service in Armenian Armed Forces

ArmInfo.All students studying at universities ranked in the top 50 global universities by the Shanghai Rankings will be exempt from military service in the  Armenian Armed Forces.

At its February 24 meeting, the National Assembly Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Diaspora, Youth,  and Sports approved the amendments to the law "On Military Service and the Status of Servicemen," submitted by the Armenian government  for the second reading.

As RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports Zhanna  Andreasyan noted in her speech, several discussions were held on the  proposals submitted by members of the National Assembly before the  second reading, many of which were accepted by the authors of the  legislative initiative. All these proposals will also be included in  the bylaws that the government will adopt following the adoption of  the bill.

The need for the adoption of the document stems from the opportunity  to utilize the knowledge of citizens studying at the world's best  universities. According to the minister, Armenian citizens have been  receiving deferments since 2018. Currently, approximately 650  citizens have received the opportunity to continue their studies at a  number of prestigious universities, with approximately 570 of them  continuing their studies.

Andreasyan noted the need to improve the tools for ensuring the  return of these citizens to Armenia and the utilization of their  potential in science, economics, public service, and other fields.  "The following approach was discussed and proposed: citizens who  received the deferment and completed their studies at one of these  universities will have the opportunity to work in a specialty  determined by the Armenian government for at least three years after  graduation, and will be exempt from mandatory military service upon  completion of this work," noted Zhanna Andreasyan.

She added that attracting citizens educated at prestigious  universities to the Armenian workforce would be effective. This, as  the head of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture noted,  would thus be another step toward developing human capital.

It's worth noting that the Academic Ranking of World Universities  (ARWU), better known as the Shanghai Ranking, is compiled by the  Asian agency ShanghaiRanking Consultancy. This ranking focuses on the  research and academic performance of universities to reduce the  influence of national education system characteristics on the final  ranking. Over 1,200 universities participate in the study, and only  500 make it into the list of the world's best universities. It is  especially useful for those planning an academic career.