By Lia Avagyan
Despite promises to eliminate political influence from universities, Armenia’s government has maintained significant control over the country’s higher education institutions, an investigation by Infocom reveals.
The investigation found that 8 out of 12 chairs of state university boards of trustees in Yerevan are political appointees, with three being ruling party members. This starkly contrasts with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s 2018 pledge that “no party member should have the right to be a university rector” and that universities should be “100% self-governing.”
According to the investigation of the board members appointed by the Prime Minister:
– 22% hold political positions
– 5% hold political positions while being Civil Contract party members
– 5% hold political positions while being party supporters or affiliates
– 15% are party supporters or affiliated persons
Thus, 47% of the Prime Minister’s appointees have political exposure, while an additional 18.3% of ministerial appointees are either state officials or connected to the ruling party.
The situation became particularly controversial in 2021 when Prime Minister Pashinyan appointed Suren Papikyan, a Civil Contract leadership member, as chairman of Yerevan State University’s board. Defending this decision, Pashinyan claimed the appointment was meant to “guarantee de-politicization” of the university system.
A draft Higher Education and Science law was introduced in September 2023, proposing to prohibit party members from holding senior administrative positions in universities. However, implementing these restrictions depends on the law’s final version and the planned consolidation of universities.
Education Minister Zhanna Andreasyan has attempted to reframe the issue, arguing that the concern isn’t about individual party membership but rather about using institutional leverage for party purposes. However, this distinction was questioned when Tigran Avinyan, a Civil Contract candidate for Yerevan mayor and chairman of the Polytechnic University board, visited the university just two days before municipal elections. Reports suggest students were incentivized to attend his meeting.
The investigation highlights a significant gap between the government’s repeated promises of creating an education system free from political influence and the increased party presence in university governance structures.
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