Armenian Government approves draft amendments to law on tuition fees

Today, the Government of Armenia has approved the draft amendments to the legislation of Armenia to set up the upper limit for tuition fees at higher education institutions. Further, the draft amendments are to be submitted to the Parliament for consideration.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that this summer, the tuition fees in the five state higher education institutions of Armenia, including the Yerevan State University, rose up to 100,000 drams (about 250 US dollars). The decision led to massive protests of students.

The planned amendments to the laws "On Education" and "On Higher and Post-Graduate Education" not only include the possibility to set up the upper limit for tuition fees as a mechanism against unjustified increases of tuition fees. The planned amendments also define the groups to receive payment benefits. This was reported by Armen Ashotyan, Minister of Education, when he presented the draft amendments.

The minimum of 7% out of the amounts that students pay for tuition will be allocated to partially compensate the costs, depending on student's academic achievements. And 42 best student of the country will be granted scholarships, the "News.am" quotes Armen Ashotyan as saying.

On August 14 and August 20, Armen Ashotyan met Armenian students, who protested against the increase of tuition fees, and discussed with them the situation that had arose. However, some students continue holding protests against the current policy of the Ministry of Education of Armenia.