Several days ago the Bologna Process Political Forum and the Ministerial Conference of European Higher Education Area concluded. One of the most important topics being discussed related to how investing in education is essential for sustainable development. In Armenia, this kind of investment is risky.

For months Hetq has been trying to uncover what happened to the disbursements for students at Mkhitar Heratsi State Medical University. While 54 free spots have been set aside for the fourth year students at Yerevan’s Mkhitar Heratsi Medical University, only 29 have actually been allocated because the remaining students had liquid academic debts.

According to the government the undisbursed funds allocated for those students had to be returned to the state budget. We did not receive a response to our letter sent to the Ministry of Education on the matter.

The parent of a student who was denied disbursements told Hetq that at the end of the fiscal year in December 2014 that she met with the Minister of Education. At the meeting the minister stressed that the undisbursed funds for the unfilled spots were returned to the state budget. 

The record of the deliberation on the state budget in the National Assembly does not indicate whether the university returned the funds. The 2014 “Law on Higher and Post-University Professional Education” addresses matters concerning state-funded tuitions paid to students. The record shows that the program’s balance was discussed but it does not show what amount of the funding remained in the university’s account.

Student Aid Wasn’t Returned to the State Budget

A review of the contract between the state university and the Ministry of Education reveals that the funds for free spots were not returned to the state budget.

On February 3, 2014, the Mkhitar Heratsi Medical University and the Ministry of Education signed a contract called “On State-Funded Student Benefits in the Form of a Full Tuition Refund.” Point 4.2 of the contract stipulates that any changes must be confirmed in writing between the parties.

The tuition costs for one year for all 21 students who were left out of university amount to around 16 million AMD ($33,517). However, this contract, which is for the fiscal year, includes the tuition for only one semester (September-January), amounting to 7.5 million AMD ($15711).

A proper agreement would have been necessary to show that the funds for the vacant spots were indeed returned to the state budget. Hetq requested a copy of this agreement from the Ministry of Education, but the ministry does not have one. The response letter, which was signed by the Head of Staff Mher Ghazaryan, was prepared by Anna Glkhambarova of the ministry’s financial department, who claimed that the funds had been transferred to the state budget when Hetq spoke to her.

The response letter also indicated that the balance in the account that should have been returned to the state budget went to fund other expenses for students who received free tuition. In other words, the state-funded tuition for one student that cost 716,400 AMD ($1500) at the beginning of the academic year became 746,400 ($1563) by the year’s end.

The recalculation of expenses for a single student at Yerevan State Medical University should not have increased but rather decreased. The appropriated funds per the agreement with the Ministry of Education were calculated for 835 students. The only contract agreement that we received from the ministry relates to the decrease in the number of students, which numbered 804 by the year’s end. Therefore, the university should have received less money than originally set at the beginning of the year from the ministry, and the remaining costs should have been handled with private funding (paid student fees).

The ministry not only did not decrease the university’s finances, it also did not request the amounts allocated for the students designated to get free tuition but were left out. None of the ministry’s departments is examining this issue.

Per the 2014 law on the budget, the costs for one student should not exceed 561,000 AMD ($1175). The Ministry of Finance informed Hetq that this figure is actually an average amount. In different state higher educational institutions this figure may be higher but the ministry could not state what the set maximum amount is. They referred us to the Ministry of Education for that information.