The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenian and Chairman of the Board of Armenian State Pedagogical University, Tigran Sargsyan, held on Friday a year-end news conference at the
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Conference Hall of Matenadaran - Institute of Ancient Manuscripts in Yerevan. Participating in the meeting, which lasted over 3,5 hours, were about 50 representatives of media, including the representatives of the ASPU Press and Public Relations Department and students of the Divisions of Radio and Television Journalism and Foreign Languages.
The head of the Armenian Government welcomed the fact that the news conference was attended not only by well-known and experienced journalists, but also by future journalists for whom, he said, the meeting was a good opportunity to learn new things from their senior colleagues and get familiarized with the work of a journalist and organization of similar events.
During the meeting, Tigran Sargsyan answered over 50 questions referring to political, economic, scientific-educational and other sectors.
The premier stressed that the best weapon in the fight against poverty is knowledge and access to education. “One of the fundamental changes in social policy is that education is made accessible to everyone; the lack of financial resources cannot prevent young people from receiving secondary, vocational and higher education. When a young person from a poor family enters university, the state guarantees his/her right to education. In 2014, about 4500 young people received financial assistance from the state budget in order to continue their studies,” he said.
In reply to a journalist’s question whether the 12-year education system in Armenia is likely to be replaced by 11-year education system following Armenia’s accession to the Russian-led Customs Union, Prime Minister Tigran Sargysan said, “If I'm not mistaken, the concept of high school was introduced to the public ten years ago. The issue has been a subject of heated debates for a long time. Given the fact that we have more than 1,400 secondary schools, we cannot ensure a higher level of education in all secondary schools and set such educational standards that will allow schoolchildren to enter university immediately after leaving school. The European experience also shows the necessity for introducing the system of high schools that need to be equipped with relevant laboratories, have qualified teachers and such educational norms the observation of which will guarantee applicant’s automatic admission to
university provided that he/she has left high school.”
Tigran Sargsyan noted that the reforms underway at high schools have not yet reached their logical end as the process requires additional financial investments. He once again reminded the policy of the Armenian Government according to which admission to universities should be easy and accessible to everyone, while graduation - difficult.
At the end of the meeting, Tigran Sargsyan congratulated everyone on the coming New Year, wishing solidarity and a successful year. The head of the executive body stressed that the job of a journalist is highly responsible; in their work they greatly contribute to the development and well-being of society.
The Prime Minister urged the presentees to be filled with optimism and advised journalists who are just beginning their career to verify facts and ensure accuracy when reporting, spread kindness and never write stories by order.
