On December 2, Public Television hosted Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Arayik Harutyunyan. The topic of the discussion was the draft law on higher education and science. Petros Ghazaryan, who is always known for his sharp questions, raised concerns existing in public discussions on making the Armenian language, history and literature non-mandatory subjects. Mainly professors’ mistrust towards Higher Educational Institutions was emphasized.
Petros Ghazaryan, interrupting the guest, made ironic comments that the lecturers themselves state the following; “We’re not good. Don’t trust us, we’re not ready for high confidence.” Petros Ghazaryan, however, did not address Arayik Harutyunyan’s meeting with lecturers, who were, by the way, dissatisfied with it since the latter had said, “Go and find a common language with each other.”
As far as the ARF youth’s demand for Arayik Harutyunyan’s resignation, is concerned, Ghazaryan, on the contrary, doubted the patriotism of the lecturers; “As lecturers’ working hours will be reduced, they have to speak out about patriotism: We’ll have to get less money, we don’t get much now either.”
“Media Advocate” initiative calls for publicly funded TV to present the issues comprehensively. We note that there is a regular attempt to present the drafts submitted by the authorities in a positive light, while journalistic principles require neutrality.
