Home / Video / Armenia’s Education System Creates ‘Diffident, Fearful’ Specialists, Opposition MP Says

Armenia’s Education System Creates ‘Diffident, Fearful’ Specialists, Opposition MP Says

The December 6 constitutional referendum in Armenia highlighted the problems of the country's education system as teachers became involved in the authorities' fraudulent activities, opposition Armenian National Congress faction (ANC) MP Aram Manukyan said at the National Assembly Tuesday during the discussion of the bill to amend Armenia's legislation on general and higher postgraduate education. The bill has been proposed by Education Minister Armen Ashotyan, who claims that the revised law would define the mechanisms for targeted admissions.

“This is a positive project; but I regard matters as a whole and not as separate pieces. The system we're trying to reform is sick: it's been politicized and is being used by the powers that be to promote their own interests. During the [December 5 constitutional] referendum, it became obvious that teachers, who had no right to be involved in the process, were part of the authorities' fraud, kicking up rows at polling stations on par with hooligans, stuffing ballot boxes, etc.,” Manukyan said.

The opposition lawmaker added that Armenia's political authorities “are creating fearful, diffident doctors and teachers” at the country's educational institutions who “are willing to fulfill political orders out of fear of losing their jobs.” 

Manukyan proposed to draft a bill that would ban teachers, as is the case with judges and prosecutors, from becoming members of political committees, to which Republican NA  speaker Galust Sahakyan replied: “You can blame teachers of corruption because they can't oppose you. There'll come a time you'll say doctors, lawyers should be eliminated as well. When voting on the Electoral Code, we'll make sure that no one besides ANC supporters takes part in the vote.”