UNIVERSITIES SEE LOWER PASS SCORE
By Ruzanna Stepanian
Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
Aug 17 2007
Applicants to Armenian universities needed lower scores to be admitted
to academic faculties this year.
At the same time, the number of average scorers in entrance
examinations showed an increase as compared to last year.
About 30 percent of exam takers in the Russian language could not
overcome the minimum required eight-point score, while about 26
percent failed in mathematics. Lower scores were also typical for
the exams in the Armenian people’s history and the oral exam in the
Armenian language.
Education Minister Levon Mkrtchian is particularly concerned over the
diminishing interest in natural sciences, such as chemistry, biology
and physics. He says the low level of knowledge among applicants in
these subjects is the omission of their school teachers.
"The entrance examinations have shown that school clearly does not
perform its function, because the high scores registered in these
subjects are the result of private studies with hired teachers,"
Mkrtchian said.
The minister also observed that fewer applicants had taken exams in
German and French as foreign languages, which shows the tendency of the
English becoming the most preferred foreign language among the youths.
Mkrtchian says they often receive requests from parents for their
children to study English rather than German or French at school, which
they think will give their children more chances to be competitive
on the labor market after leaving school.
According to the minister, this year’s entrance examinations were
a success in terms of reducing corruption risks, especially in the
exams in the Armenian language and literature due to the application
of a common examination system and a computer-assisted check.
Mkrtchian hopes corruption risks will be reduced also in the exams
in foreign languages and mathematics as the practice is due to be
applied to these subjects as well next year.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
