Talk of Bribes ‘Silly Attempt at Casting Shadow on Future Teachers’: University Rep

“For the first time in its history, the Armenian State Pedagogical University [named after Khachatur Abovyan (ASPU)] will hand over all 2,300 graduates’ diplomas in one day, on Jun. 7, after which the blessing of the graduation ceremony will take place with the participation of His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians,” is how the university responded to an Epress.am report that several students from the university were told they had to pay 20,000 drams (around $50 USD) if they wanted to get their graduate degrees in a short period of time.

Diana Markosyan, head of the university’s press department, told Epress.am that talk of certain amount of money being required for procuring diplomas is absolutely ungrounded and a “silly attempt at casting a shadow on the activities of the nation’s future teachers.”