YSU RESTART CONTINUES DISCUSSIONS

The meeting was attended by the representatives of several Armenian universities as well as several regional universities and members of Restart student groups created at HEIs.

The youth was welcomed by Nelli Ghahramanyan, Chairman of the Student Council of YSU Faculty of History: “I greet everyone, it is nice to have you all hosted at Alma Mater. Today’s young man is ready to fight for his rights and this is undoubtedly an inspiring reality. The Student Council of the Faculty of History focuses on students’ troubles and I want to assure them that we will work closely with the Rebstart groups.”

The representative of Shirak State University mentioned that immediately after the dismissal of the university rector, new processes were launched at the university aimed at restoring the university’s healthy atmosphere.

Member of “YSU Restart” Initiative David Petrosyan first presented the agenda of the working discussion and underlined that the students’ victory is in their cohesion. ": “We should have been responsible for our steps as this responsibility increases in the context of new political realities.”

David Petrosyan mentioned that at present members of the group cooperate with the representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science, and before the adoption of the legislative amendments a short-term decision should be elaborated, which will contribute to further changes. That is why it is envisaged to form student groups to study humanities, natural and artistic issues and to include them in the proposal package.

Yuri Avagyan, a member of the initiative, added that the RA Ministry of Education will form working committees to make changes in the RA Law on Higher Education, the members of which should be selected by the students. For this purpose, it is planned to conduct surveys, within which students will have the opportunity to offer their favorite and trusted professors’ candidatures.

Rita Saghatelyan, Associate Professor of the Chair of Armenian Language at YSU Faculty of Armenian Philology delivered a speech, highlighting that the students’ problems are also the issues of the lecturers.

Yuri Avagyan urged the participants of the meeting to address the existing problems at the HEIs as well as to submit the proposals in paper and electronic form to the members of “YSU Restart” initiative.

Knarik Zakaryan, a member of the “Restart” group at Abovyan State Pedagogical University (ASPU), said: “The student structures of the university mainly serve the interests of the RPA, which is a concern for all. The problems are many: insufficient classroom conditions, antique methods of teaching, low level of knowledge, high prices for student cafeterias, etc. We hope that within the framework of this initiative we will have the opportunity to solve the problems.”

Levon Sargsyan, Associate Professor of the Chair of Applied Psychology of ASPU, touched upon the lecturers’ workload, which negatively affects the quality of education.

Mikael Nazaryan, a representative of Brusov Linguistic University of Armenia, stated that the Student Council was dissolved, and instead of the Student Council it was planned to create an alternative student body.

Aram Arshakyan, a student of Yerevan National University of Architecture and Construction, presented their “Restart” activities and mentioned that students have already met with the rector and the management of the University several times. As a result, an agreement was reached to solve the problems within the university.

“Students have been interviewed about the quality and practice of education. As a result, more than 80% of students are not satisfied with the quality of education or the implementation of practical work. For this purpose, we have had meetings with leading experts in the field, as well as offered proposals to the leadership of the university, which promised to cooperate with students,” - stated Aram Arshakyan.

The representative of Yerevan State Institute of Theater and Cinematography also touched upon the internal problems of the university and added that work is underway with the leadership of the University to resolve them.

In order to use the time correctly and efficiently, representatives of a number of HEIs handed the issues and proposals in written form to the members of the Initiative.

At the end of the meeting Davit Petrosyan said that from now on meetings for more practical and effective discussions will be held with one or more representatives of HEIs, who will clearly present the problems and suggestions.