Science is declared a high-priority field in our country, however, it became clear from the 2013 budget that it would be a high priority only for show next year too. www.aravot.am talked to Hovhannes Sahakyan, a Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) MP, about nonsenses and gags related to scientists’ low salary.
– Isn’t it really funny that scientists in our academy don’t even get an average wage? Their average wage is 60-70 thousand AMD.
– Education and Science is one of the national security pillars for us. The problem that exists in the field of education starting from school wages; it is a fact that it doesn’t suffice. At the same time, we should be able to compare our capabilities to the problems that exist in the republic. People who work in that field, their devotion, that God-given ideological approach somehow both justifies and offers us the opportunity to perform the tasks assigned to us. The scientist, the teacher… for me they are not only specialists who have been educated and gotten a profession, they should have inner devotion.
– So they should work for free?
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– No. Of course, I am convinced that this problem will be revised in 2014. I think that the problems that exist today in the field of education, in particular, will be revised in 2014. They will be solved.
– Why 2014, what do you expect from that year?
– A set of prerequisites, events that we can see today, I think we will have the real picture or reflection of that in 2014.
– Isn’t this currying favor with scientists?
– We have an election ahead of us. If it was currying favor, it would be easier to curry favor before the election.
– If any issue is solved, it will be solved before the election. It will not be solved after the election for sure.
– I don’t think so, because our steps, our actions have never been conditional on currying favor with someone before elections. If an increase in wages is expected in 2014, I see the political issue, according to your logic, we could do all that in 2013 and curry favor with the people and go for the election. However, we say 2014 taking into account the capabilities of our people and our budget.
– Do you know that a scientist in the academy is paid twice less than a teacher? So in what sense is it a high-priority field?
– I don’t want to misuse the war situation, but we should think realistically that the Republic of Armenia, as the guarantor of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, is in a real war situation today with all its manifestations. Also the Artsakh issue. If there is no population behind the soldier who stands on the border, there is no point in that soldier’s standing there. We keep Artsakh in all senses.
– Are you, as an MP, going to make a proposal, demand that scientists’ wage be increased at least to the average?
– Frankly speaking, my friend Armen Ashotyan, with whom I have travelled a long road, treats all that so diligently and so meticulously that I understand that there is not much of a need for prompting him or showing the direction. He knows, sees, he raises those issues with the government. But there is no point in prompting the minister. It is a bit about capabilities. We are in one family; we all know how big our family’s budget is. We all know that expenses are primary. But it doesn’t mean that the field of education should be secondary.
– Then why did you declare it a high-priority field? In a set of European countries, no one says that science is their high-priority field, but they spend 4%-5% of GDP on science there.
– Our language, our literature, our science have kept us for many years. It also keeps us today in all senses.
– It is not about a huge sum of money, at least, to increase the academy scientists’ wage and only 400 million AMD are needed, in order to do that.
– I understand people who have devoted all of their lives to science. Perhaps, if they had engaged in business, it would have been better financially. However, we perceive their type, their image in that manner that they work for our science. I think some problems may be solved in the process, but in this case, what has been put forward is the maximum in terms of capabilities.
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
