Arka and Panorama.am news agencies report that according to the Minister of Education and Science, Mr. Spartak Seyranian, the university entrance examinations held this year showed that the tests on certain subjects and the oral examinations need serious improvements.
“It is quite difficult to establish the knowledge of the applicant based on tests consisting of 80 questions in disciplines such as History of Armenia and General History, unlike Languages and Math”, the Minister told journalists.
The Ministry will distribute guidebooks for 2009 admission exams on Chemistry, Biology and Geography no later than this November so that applicants will have sufficient time to prepare. These are the 3 additional subjects that will join the national standardized exams next summer.
The Minister also pointed out problems with the oral exams and in particular the lack of appeal procedure for applicants and their parents. Mr. Seyranian stressed the necessity of bringing oral exams closer to the standardized testing system (like it is done at TOEFL). “We will try to find an option that will satisfy applicants on the one hand and will not turn the exam into a primitive process on the other hand,” the Minister said.
Currently, about 65,000 students are enrolled at 16 public institutions of higher education in Armenia.
According to MES, out of 13.007 applicants to public universities, 10,001 were admitted this year. This includes 2,242 students on tuition-free basis. Thus 336 places, including 2 tuition-free places, will remain vacant.
