YEREVAN. - Party affiliation shouldn’t be used in the educational sphere of Armenia.

Minister of Education and Science of Armenia, Levon Mkrtchyan, said the aforementioned on Friday, during the parliamentary hearings on draft 2017 State Budget.

Secretary of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) faction Aram Manukyan noted that according to surveys, the sphere of education is one of the most corrupted ones in the country: “Principals of about 1100 schools are members of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA). We have quite a politicized educational system.  What is done to get rid of corruption and depoliticize the educational system? I’ve heard that you want to depoliticize it,” Manukyan noted.

Responding to the deputy’s question, Mkrtchyan noted that any phenomenon existing in the society can find its reflection in the educational sphere as well. “I don’t think that the peak of corruption is exactly in the educational sphere. But it is definitely necessary to fight against corruption. As to the political affiliation in education, I have always been against it: party affiliation must not exist in the educational sphere,” the Minister stressed.

According to him, a new law on higher education, which will enhance the legislative grounds excluding party affiliation in the education system, will soon be introduced in the parliament.