Artsakh State University Rector says ‘still not possible’ to meet with RA Education Minister to discuss university’s fate

Our priority now is to restore the right to education of students displaced from Artsakh and to organize their training in Armenian universities in their majors, Rector of the Artsakh State University Armen Sargsyan told NEWS.am, adding that “the future fate of the Artsakh State University is still unknown.”

“I am in daily contact with the Minister of Education and Science of Armenia and heads of Armenian universities. Our students currently attend other universities without any documents. They sit in classes without their names being registered, so that their right to education is not violated. If we don’t manage to enroll them in Armenian universities this month, the students will have to take a gap year,” the rector said.

Armen Sargsyan noted that it is still not possible to meet with the Minister of Education and Science of Armenia, Zhanna Andreasyan, to discuss the possible restarting of the Artsakh State University.

“For now, I am waiting for the meeting with the minister. The government must decide the fate of the Artsakh State University in Armenia. If the decision is not made, we cannot obtain the appropriate accreditation and get a license; therefore, we cannot issue diplomas to the graduates either,” said Sargsyan, noting that the process may take at least two years.

“We cannot make 1,600 students wait for one or two years until we prepare the documents and establish a new university. This is a very complicated and time-consuming process, and if we continue our activities as a private university, the question will be whether the students displaced from Artsakh will be able to pay for tuition and so on,” Sargsyan said.