A group of male students is protesting: after the adoption of the new law, there will be no deferment for the Graduate Program anymore, and the boys perhaps do not want to take a Graduate Program after serving in the army. They want to study instead of serving in the army, to make an advancement in Armenian science, and military service, apparently, will hamper them.
First of all, I dare to question the need for a Graduate Program in some professions. For example, if someone is a journalist, why does he need a Master’s degree, is he going to become a scientist of journalism? I think, after receiving a Bachelor’s degree he should work in a media company. Or, if he is a violinist, will he engage in violin sciences? It is another matter if he is internationally recognized talent, like Sergei Khachatryan. Such people are rare and should be exempt from army, as well as the winners of major international Olympiads. However, all this has nothing to do with Graduate Program and deferment.
There are, of course, spheres, fundamental sciences, where there is a need for young professionals. But is it the army that hinders the development of these spheres? Let’s answer the question with the exclusion principle. The right to deferment has been under operation for 25 years in Armenia, so what, are the science (and education) experiencing rapid development? Of course not, just the opposite. There is no deferment in Israel at all, and science and education flourish there.
Therefore, the causes of our sad state of science should be sought somewhere else. Moreover, perhaps in some extent it is caused by formal Bachelor’s degree, even more meaningless Master’s degree, Post-graduate degree with no connection to science, and unsuccessful PhD theses. Girls also go through these stages, but especially for boys this is a way to be exempted from serving in the army, yet this should not be the case. Let me repeat, it is one of the reasons for the current situation, perhaps not the most important one.
I’m not sure what we can do. I can only remind that almost the only field where our science is developing is information technology, since this production, this business develops. By the way, without Graduate and Postgraduate programs and PhD theses.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
