French University of Armenia Rector Preparing to Appeal Ruling on Dismissed Lecturers

The bar for exams at the French University of Armenia (L’Université Française en Arménie, UFAR) won’t be lowered, while oral exams will be filmed, said UFAR Rector Joëlle le Morzellec at a press conference in Yerevan today.

Mme le Morzellec, as well as UFAR External Relations Vice-Rector Arayik Navoyan and Financial and Administrative Director of the UFAR Foundation Vagharshak Meyroyan spoke of the reforms carried out by the university.

However, journalists were more concerned about the case of the 29 UFAR lecturers, discharged in August last year, who held a press conference and publicly announced their intention to issue proceedings against the university for unfair dismissal.

Mme le Morzellec stated that only a few lecturers actually appealed to the courts and assured the public that no unhealthy environment exists within the university.

“The court ruling came, but we’re going to appeal it in appeals court, since statements discrediting several university staff were made by email as well as through media reports,” she said.

According to the university rector, some of the facts presented by the dismissed lecturers to the court were, in fact, untrue, which is one of the reasons the university will be appealing the court’s ruling.

As for the demand made by several lecturers and graduates that Mme le Morzellec and Navoyan step down from their posts, the rector stated that only representatives of the government of Armenia and France can do that — lecturers have no right to demand such an act.