The Draft Law Against Post-Graduate Boys
Suren Eremjyan, lecturer of Russian-Armenian Slavonic University, talked about the changes in the Law on Military Service. “Strangely, such a draft law is introduced into circulation. One can realize that the changes lead to the deprivation of post-graduate boys from the postponement of their military service. And I’m not speaking about those who want to study in the bachelor's and master's degrees. Let's make a simple calculation. Today, only 140 students are eligible for post-graduate education by postponing their military service. There are 70,000 servicemen in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, therefore, even if we accept the presumption that most of these 140 boys are going to university to avoid the military service, this number is nothing with compared to the scale of the Armed Forces. Meanwhile, the number of people involved in science in the Republic of Armenia is about 7,000 (10 times less than the MOD), and even if we admit that only 10 out of 140 will become scholars, it is far more profitable. I do not even say that we have a lack of young teaching staff in universities today. Let's talk about the idea that those who want to learn after the service, are studying more enthusiastically. It is a total lie. There are always some free places in universities for those who wish to study after the service, but the numbers of entrants for these places are never big. I would provide my personal experience in order to be more precise. I had a group with excellent students, but after 11 students’ returning from their military service, only 2 of these 11 boys continued their studies. To sum up, I'll add that the presence of higher education in the Armed Forces, as well as the soldier’s age difference is a great thing for us. Meanwhile, the elimination of the latter from the army will lead to the fact that only the 18-year-old youth will go to army (and such laws will ultimately lead to this), which will lead to the reduction of the educational level or the moral and psychological atmosphere of the servicemen.
