Overseas education programs are quite attractive, hence, many young people learning about the overseas systems, express a great desire to participate in them. Some obtain education abroad just to be there or based on the fact that the overseas education is considered to be in fashion, at the same time, there are also young people who want to enhance their knowledge, acquire stable skills and abilities, return to Armenia and apply their knowledge in the homeland. The Armenian young people who obtained education or attended the workshops abroad, in conversation with us, spoke of the essence, positive and negative sides of the “overseas” educational system.
Davit Davtyan (photo) is a journalist, 22 years old. “I read the announcement on the Internet: the Armenian State Pedagogic University announced a contest for the summer school. My friends advised me to participate, I tried and it worked. Indeed, it was useful. To participate in the contest, English language proficiency, literacy, high performance and social activism was required. The first round was the interview. The committee asked questions from the history, national values and culture. The second round was a lottery to have an unbiased choice. Any of the European countries is different from Armenia: only lifestyle and habits are enough to form a new style. More specifically, I was interested in the quality of education and the high benchmark. The youth is free in creative work and the lessons are not conducted in our traditionally adopted way. If I had another chance, I would definite participate, because when coming back I feel even in my professional career what new and fresh ideas are coming to my mind, on the other hand, the new friends and contacts. These were unforgettable days,” told Davit.
23 -year-old Nare Manukyan is an economist. After graduating from the Slavic University, she was willing to continue the education abroad, and she had the opportunity to leave for Prague. “I attended the Charles University training courses, where I studied Czech for a year, then I studied at the Department of Economics and Management of the University, where the education was completely free. The education there is completely different from the one in Armenia. After checking the students’ written work, the professor did not know whose specific work it is, and it’s good so that there was no biased approach. The education level was quite high. Often the best professors from different countries were invited to conduct the courses. Studying was rather difficult, especially for the students who are not locals. I think that people should not stay in a foreign country after receiving education. I will return to Armenia and will work in my country,” Nare is convinced.
26-year-old Karine Brsoyan (poto), who is an expert for European studies and translator is a member of the “Serund” Pan-Armenian Youth Center and co-leader of the local news and advocacy team. “We are having many exchange programs (trainings, seminars, etc.). I attended two of such programs in the UK and the Republic of Moldova. I had a great desire to participate because thanks to non-formal education programs, young people gain a lot of experience and interaction with other countries’ culture-holders, at the same tome presenting your own culture. One of the important and key prerequisite for participation in the program was the English language proficiency. One of the advantages of non -formal education, in my opinion, is that the linguistic constraints do not prevent the participation and young people with sufficient English language skills are given the opportunity to study, demonstrate skills and gain a lot of experience. In short, these courses gave me an experience that I apply in my work, they helped me to express my thought better and free, I improved my language skills and why not, acquired foreign friends. The “overseas” education is well-planned than in our country, the people, versus to Armenians, are freer and are not afraid to express thoughts and make mistakes,” says our interlocutor.
Lilit AVAGYAN
