Following Armenian Minister of Education and Science Mr. Armen Ashotian’s 4 day visit to Iran (21-25 May), it has been announced that Iran is ready to reconsider its decision not to recognize degrees granted by 3 Armenian HEIs: Yerevan State University (YSU), Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU) and State Engineering University of Armenia (SEUA). Iran’s recognition of Armenian degrees will most probably result in a major increase in the number of Iranian students coming to Armenia; an excellent news for all those who have traditionally thrived on the ‘Iranian student business.’
Presenting the results of his recent visit to Tehran, Mr. Ashotian said at a press conference that Iran has shown ‘the appropriate political will’ and before the next academic year, its Deputy Minister of Science and Technology will visit Yerevan to discuss bilateral issues.
Mr. Ashotian added that the Iranian side attaches great importance to its cooperation with Armenia in the fields of education and science. This was particularly stressed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his meeting with the Armenian delegation.
Previously, the Iranian official news agency IRNA had reported that ‘Dr. Ahmadinejad’ had called bilateral relations with Armenia as "fraternal and friendly," adding that Iran and Armenia, along with “the other states in the region”, enjoy “inseparable” ties with each other.
According to IRNA, Mr. Ashotian had called Iran’s scientific progress "astounding" and had added that the two countries have plenty of opportunities for cooperation in the fields of education, science and research.
In his press conference in Yerevan, Mr. Ashotian also announced that the two countries will sign a cooperation agreement very shortly. Iran will provide 10 scholarships to Armenian graduate students in specific fields such as Iranian and Islamic Studies and will establish a center of Armenian Studies at one of its institutions.
Winners & Losers
The recognition of YSU, YSMU and SEUA degrees will surely increase the Iranian student inflow into these institutions. Iranian students, who are charged higher tuition fees, have been a good source of income for YSU, YSMU and SEUA in the past 10 years.
Iran’s Ministry of Science cancelled its recognition of Armenian degrees last year due to widespread corruption in Armenian institutions, low quality of instruction in programs hosting Iranian students (programs taught in English at YSMU and SEUA), and the lack of student services. Indeed, Iranian students have been constantly reporting to their embassy in Yerevan on cases of maltreatment by university officers, instructors’ inability to teach in English, lower standards in courses taught to foreign students, instructors asking for bribes, insufficient instructional equipment and material (computer labs, etc.), in general, and their discriminatory allocation to foreign students.
In case of YSU that never opened a separate English language stream for foreign students, the main problem was the institution’s policy to admit massive numbers of Iranian students to its doctorate programs and letting them earn degrees on less stringent bases. This attracted many Iranian civil servants who by getting an easy doctorate were automatically granted promotions.
It is not yet known what commitments Mr. Ashotian has made to his Iranian counterparts in terms of dealing with all these problems.
The recognition of YSU, YSMU and SEUA degrees will also be a very good news for all the other actors who, directly or indirectly, have benefited from the Iranian student inflow. The rather well-organized ‘corruption chain’ has typically included certain staff at the Armenian Embassy in Iran who, in collaboration with local student recruitment agencies, handle applications and later issue student visas up to the officers and staff at the Armenian Ministry of Education’s International Division who handle international admissions and allocate applicants to different HEIs. One should also mention the immigration officers (OVIR) who issue and renew annual resident permits to international students.
As to the Iranian students themselves, who are not exactly the best Iranian students going abroad but still have certain expectations on the quality of education and student services for which they pay, it will all depend on whether the hosting HEIs will be able to improve their offerings and practices in the future. Based on the past experiences and the inability of Armenian HEIs to improve themselves, I am afraid, they will be the main losers.
Presenting the results of his recent visit to Tehran, Mr. Ashotian said at a press conference that Iran has shown ‘the appropriate political will’ and before the next academic year, its Deputy Minister of Science and Technology will visit Yerevan to discuss bilateral issues.
Mr. Ashotian added that the Iranian side attaches great importance to its cooperation with Armenia in the fields of education and science. This was particularly stressed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his meeting with the Armenian delegation.
Previously, the Iranian official news agency IRNA had reported that ‘Dr. Ahmadinejad’ had called bilateral relations with Armenia as "fraternal and friendly," adding that Iran and Armenia, along with “the other states in the region”, enjoy “inseparable” ties with each other.
According to IRNA, Mr. Ashotian had called Iran’s scientific progress "astounding" and had added that the two countries have plenty of opportunities for cooperation in the fields of education, science and research.
In his press conference in Yerevan, Mr. Ashotian also announced that the two countries will sign a cooperation agreement very shortly. Iran will provide 10 scholarships to Armenian graduate students in specific fields such as Iranian and Islamic Studies and will establish a center of Armenian Studies at one of its institutions.
Winners & Losers
The recognition of YSU, YSMU and SEUA degrees will surely increase the Iranian student inflow into these institutions. Iranian students, who are charged higher tuition fees, have been a good source of income for YSU, YSMU and SEUA in the past 10 years.
Iran’s Ministry of Science cancelled its recognition of Armenian degrees last year due to widespread corruption in Armenian institutions, low quality of instruction in programs hosting Iranian students (programs taught in English at YSMU and SEUA), and the lack of student services. Indeed, Iranian students have been constantly reporting to their embassy in Yerevan on cases of maltreatment by university officers, instructors’ inability to teach in English, lower standards in courses taught to foreign students, instructors asking for bribes, insufficient instructional equipment and material (computer labs, etc.), in general, and their discriminatory allocation to foreign students.
In case of YSU that never opened a separate English language stream for foreign students, the main problem was the institution’s policy to admit massive numbers of Iranian students to its doctorate programs and letting them earn degrees on less stringent bases. This attracted many Iranian civil servants who by getting an easy doctorate were automatically granted promotions.
It is not yet known what commitments Mr. Ashotian has made to his Iranian counterparts in terms of dealing with all these problems.
The recognition of YSU, YSMU and SEUA degrees will also be a very good news for all the other actors who, directly or indirectly, have benefited from the Iranian student inflow. The rather well-organized ‘corruption chain’ has typically included certain staff at the Armenian Embassy in Iran who, in collaboration with local student recruitment agencies, handle applications and later issue student visas up to the officers and staff at the Armenian Ministry of Education’s International Division who handle international admissions and allocate applicants to different HEIs. One should also mention the immigration officers (OVIR) who issue and renew annual resident permits to international students.
As to the Iranian students themselves, who are not exactly the best Iranian students going abroad but still have certain expectations on the quality of education and student services for which they pay, it will all depend on whether the hosting HEIs will be able to improve their offerings and practices in the future. Based on the past experiences and the inability of Armenian HEIs to improve themselves, I am afraid, they will be the main losers.
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