Universities to admit less students in 2011

The universities in Armenia will admit less students in 2011, according to the Evaluation and Testing Center of the Ministry of Education.

"We have got 18,500 paid and 2,428 free tuition bids for universites this year, which means low passable scores in some faculties can be enough for admission and even free studies," Karo Nasibyan, the head of the Center's Development and Organization Department, told a news conference on Wednesday.

"As high schools will not have graduates this year we have very few applicants. These include mostly people who either flunked out of universities or were denied admission in the previous years, as well as demobilized servicemen and school graduates from the diaspora. We also have correspondence and private university students who want to study in state universities free of charge," he said.

The application submissiond deadline was April 10. Additional entrance exams will be organized betwen June 24 and July 2. Applicants can have first and second choices for tuition- free studies and 8 choices for paid studies.

Nasibyan ruled out the possibility of increasing tuition fees.

"If university rectors pursue the right policy, tuitions will be reduced," he added.