ESCS Minister Zhanna Andreyasyan convened a meeting with the rectors of state higher education institutions of Armenia today. Chairman of the Committee on Higher Education and Science Sargis Hayotsyan also attended the meeting.

The key objective of the meeting was the implementation of measures deriving from the new Law "On Higher Education and Science".

As stated by Minister Zhanna Andriasyan, following the adoption of the law, the development of sub-legislative acts commenced, and a number of draft legal acts have already been submitted for public discussion. The Minister called on the rectors to present their suggestions and observations, thus helping to improve the regulations being adopted. Reference was also made to the introduction of a new degree-awarding system the draft of which is currently under public discussion and proposes regulations aligned with international standards.

The meeting also addressed the admissions system, in accordance with the principles set out in the new law. Zhanna Andriasyan introduced the planned external evaluation system, the requirements for higher education institutions, the forthcoming changes for high schools, and other related initiatives.

There was also a discussion regarding the accreditation of university programs: in this context, it was emphasized that the accrediting organization be internationally recognized in terms of quality assurance and comply with the established requirements. The Minister also briefed the rectors with an update on the current phase of the "Academic City" program: "We are now finalizing the last phase of aligning the master plan with the RA legislation. The concept for the technology cluster will also be finalized soon and is planned to be discussed with partners from the Technical University of Munich. We already have a contract with the UCL Institute of Education. We will work with the latter on the concept of an education cluster. The contract also includes organizing training courses for education managers to ensure efficient quality management."

Issues regarding the consolidation of higher education institutions, the training of boards of trustees, the establishment of ethics bodies, the introduction of the credit system, and the improvement of current operations were also discussed.