In Armenia, about 300 students march in defence of their rights

Today, Yerevan hosted a march of students, organized by the Students' Union of the ARF (Armenian Revolutionary Federation) Dashnaktsutyun "Nikol Agbalyan". About 300 protesters demand from the government to revise tuition fees and provide social benefits.

The march dated to the International Students' Solidarity Day started from the main building of the State Engineering University and moved along streets of Yerevan, stopping in front of each higher school and calling students to join their demands.

The march of about 300 students ended in front of the government of Armenia, where the protesters handed over a letter with their concerns to the government.

Apart from revision of tuition fees, the letter touched on introduction of discounts for students on metro fares, free travel of students from the regions to the capital, and creation of students' buffets on the non-profit basis.

The activists also demanded to introduce the minimum consumer basket for students and define stipends in accordance therewith, as well as higher salaries to university teachers and equipment for laboratories and libraries.

Mnatsakhan Agababyan, a student of the Yerevan State University, who pays for his training, believes that price on food at the university is one of the main problems. "Prices at the buffet are so high that I can't afford to buy anything there. Students' buffets are owned by individuals who turned them into business centres," he said.

Khachik Minasyan, a member of the Union "Nikol Agbalyan", believes that the existing problems affect the quality of student learning and hopes that the government will demonstrate a constructive approach to their demands.

According to Susanna Petrosyan, a university teacher, the government should keep students' problems in the focus of attention. Many students have to work in parallel to training, in most cases, not to their specialities, to pay for training. "What sort of specialist can we expect in the future of such a student, if his or her training runs in this way?" asked the teacher.