"FREE OF CHARGE HIGHER EDUCATION WILL BE IDEAL, BUT THE STATE DOES NOT HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY AT THIS MOMENT": YSU RECTOR A. SIMONYAN'S INTERVIEW TO TERT.AM WEBSITE

However, he told Tert.am that, unfortunately, the world practice shows that even richer countries cannot do that. He brought the example of Russia, which even decreases the number of state order places and adds the places in paid system.

"Universities will welcome the opportunity to make higher education free, if it is possible for us to do so, that is, the state will take this burden. It would be great, like in Scandinavian countries, Denmark and partly in Germany. But, unfortunately, at the moment the fact shows that even economically developed countries cannot do that. I can not say how the new authorities will have the opportunity to work out a plan," - he said.

YSU Rector believes that someone should pay for higher education anyway, there is nothing in the world free of charge. He remembered the famous proverb saying that "free cheese is only in the trap". Mr. Simonyan thinks that the state or private sources or students should pay.

"I think it would be perfect if the state paid, I think it is possible to have also funds that would take that expenditure on themselves. I have not concealed my point of view and I have always said that paying by student is the worst option, but we have to, because the economic development indexes have not given us the opportunity for the state to do so. And our business and private funds do not have that opportunity, if they have somehow, they do not do it, because its culture is not formed in our country," - said the Rector.

Aram Simonyan believes that the universities should not suffer, that is to say, the expenses of HEIs, salaries, which, according to Simonyan, should be as high as possible (including equipment, property and expenses for the natural activity of the University).

He sees one of the ways to make higher education free reducing the number of state and private HEIs.

"It is possible to go through the way of enlargement of universities, to make more specialized higher education institutions, so, every university should have its own task.The global experience shows that competition can not be endless throughout the country, for example, the Dutch Ministry of Education and Science finds that competition cannot be developed inside endless, it must be intensified inside and help each other in terms of orientation to be able to compete with foreign universities. We have a lot of universities because we have as many private and state universities as Scandinavian countries, Finland, Norway, and Sweden have not together," - Aram Simonyan mentioned.

The Rector believes that the program should be developed, but does not think that the state has the opportunity at the moment. According to him, free education can be partially or gradually.