Philology students go on strike in Armenian capital
Students of the Yerevan State University’s Faculty of Armenian Philology held a strike on Wednesday morning to protest against a bill that would make the subjects of Armenian language, literature and history optional for students.
The bill drafted by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport has not been put up for public discussion yet.
“We agree that there are problems over teaching those subjects, but the best way to handle the issue is not to bypass it. We can develop new mechanisms, organize public hearings and form a professional council,” said one of the organizers of the strike, Gevorg Gyulumyan.
He stressed the strike is aimed at warning the authorities to put up with the opinion of students and lecturers while discussing problems and making a decision.
Lecturer at the Faculty of Armenian Philology Vardan Petrosyan defended the student strike as an important move to protect Armenian as a national language. YSU Associate Professor Narine Dilbaryan also voiced support for the student’s initiative.