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The Armenian Association for Academic Partnership and Support (ARMACAD) has announced a discussion session on Wikipedia in Armenian language. The meeting will take place on 8 June 2010. The Association has invited all interested parties to participate.

During the meeting, questions concerning the content of Wikipedia in Armenian as well as the materials about Armenia and Armenians in foreign languages will be discussed. The administrators and the authors of Armeniapedia will also participate and present their insights.

For further information and participation, please click here.

Challenges Ahead

The issue of the Armenian presence on Wikipedia was recently raised by the members of a civil campaign against the government’s decision to reopen foreign language schools in Armenia.

In its statement, via ArmeniaNow online magazine, the group emphasized the need to implement a large-scale national program to “raise the competitiveness of the Armenian language”. Such a program would include massive translation of world literature into Armenian, creation of computer-based and online translator programs, and development of Armenian online resources on Wikipedia and similar platforms.

For a country that has announced ICT as one of its strategic development paths towards a ‘knowledge-driven economy’, the current generalized lack of interest in knowledge, the poor state of online resources in Armenian as well as the limited scope of computer and internet use in the country are surely anomalous.

The prices of computers and the Internet connection are surely part of the problem but they will be solved sooner or later. The government can surely play a major role in promoting better education and research systems, and is rightly being criticized for its ignorance and inaction.

However, the lack of public interest is a fundamental cultural problem that will be difficult to tackle. It is not hard to notice that the Armenian public, including the youth, in contrast to its obsession with cars and mobile phones, seems rather uninterested in computers and the Internet.

One of the manifestations of this apathy is the poor state of Armenian presence in cyberspace, including in leading online platforms such as Wikipedia.

Not Exactly a Eurovision-type Performance

On 29 May 2010, with 3,306,572 articles, English ranked first in the global ranking of 272 languages that are present in Wikipedia. With 9,045 articles, Armenian ranked 96th; after Tajik and before Yoruba.

The low ranking of Armenian became more apparent and troublesome when I considered other main languages spoken in the region:

Rank / Language / No of Articles

10 / Russian / 541,434
19 / Turkish / 144,922
33 / Persian / 93,921
50 / Georgian / 40,797
53 / Azeri / 34,634
88 / Kurdish / 12,910

It was interesting for me to note that Armenian, despite being a state language, ranked even lower than Kurdish which has official status only in Kurdistan province of Iraq and remains banned in other countries with Kurdish population.

Armenian ranked even lower than languages spoken by many ‘small nations’ such as Icelandic that is spoken by approximately 320,000 people (ranked 60 with 28,495 entries) and Chuvash, the official provincial language of Chuvashia (Russian Federation), spoken by 1,640,000 people (ranked 92 with 11,286 entries).

Again, remaining in our region, Armenian ranked slightly higher than Ossetian (ranked 105 with 6,937 articles) and Abkhazian (ranked 211with 430 articles).

Articles Concerning Armenia

As for articles written in English on Armenia, the Armenian inertia is, once again, striking. I did not search articles written in Russian or other languages.

Following some random search for Armenian higher education related topics, I realized that there were no entries for ‘higher education in Armenia’ (there is only an article on ‘education in Armenia’) or ‘the Ministry of Education and Science of Armenia.’ As for the Armenian universities, there were articles on the following 11 HEIs only:

American University of Armenia
Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture
Eurasia International University
Russian-Armenian State University
State Engineering University of Armenia
Yerevan State Linguistic University
Yerevan State Medical University
Yerevan State Musical Conservatory
Yerevan State Pedagogical University
Yerevan State University
Yerevan State University of Architecture and Construction

Most of these articles were very brief, poorly edited and documented. Under ‘Yerevan State University of Architecture and Construction,’ for instance, this is what was written:

“YSUAC is a university, located in Yerevan, Armenia.

History

A technical school opened within the newly-established Yerevan State University in 1921, graduating its first students in 1928. In July 1930, the Armenian Construction Institute, which by this stage had departments of Architecture and Construction, Hydrology and Chemical Engineering, was established with prominent architect Mikayel Mazmanyan as its first director.

It grew and developed until on 11 January 1989, the Institute was renamed the Yerevan State University of Architecture and Construction by the Armenian SSR Council of Ministers. Its first rector (1989-2005) was Arest Baglaryan, since which time Professor Hovhannes Tokmajyan has been the rector.

Its 7 faculties contain 23 departments”.

The entry for the ‘Armenian Academy of Sciences’ was equally weak, inaccurate and incomplete.

Armeniapedia: Even Worse

The purpose of creating Armeniapedia, ‘the online Armenia Encyclopedia’ – a totally separate initiative from Wikipedia – is unclear to me. Probably, yet another manifestation of Armenian reclusiveness. As for its impact, I think it would be safe to say the project has clearly failed.

On 29 May 2010, it contained 5,670 articles only. Quality-wise, entries in Armeniapedia were even weaker than Wikipedia articles concerning Armenia.

I searched for the same entries on Armeniapedia. Here again, there was nothing on ‘higher education in Armenia’ or ‘the Ministry of Education and Science,’ and even ‘the National Academy of Sciences’ had no entry. Moreover, most Armenian HEIs were absent.

Instead, it was interesting to see entries for foreign HEIs such as Arizona State University and University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. I thought there had surely been good reasons to include such institutions on Armeniapedia; for instance, having departments of Armenian Studies or partnerships with Armenian HEIs.

Under ‘University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee,’ however, I discovered the following short and strange text:

“Dr. Christina Maranci, Professor of Art History
Dr. Bert Vaux, Professor of Linguistics”

Following Armenian Minister of Education and Science Mr. Armen Ashotian’s 4 day visit to Iran (21-25 May), it has been announced that Iran is ready to reconsider its decision not to recognize degrees granted by 3 Armenian HEIs: Yerevan State University (YSU), Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU) and State Engineering University of Armenia (SEUA). Iran’s recognition of Armenian degrees will most probably result in a major increase in the number of Iranian students coming to Armenia; an excellent news for all those who have traditionally thrived on the ‘Iranian student business.’

Presenting the results of his recent visit to Tehran, Mr. Ashotian said at a press conference that Iran has shown ‘the appropriate political will’ and before the next academic year, its Deputy Minister of Science and Technology will visit Yerevan to discuss bilateral issues.

Mr. Ashotian added that the Iranian side attaches great importance to its cooperation with Armenia in the fields of education and science. This was particularly stressed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his meeting with the Armenian delegation.

Previously, the Iranian official news agency IRNA had reported that ‘Dr. Ahmadinejad’ had called bilateral relations with Armenia as “fraternal and friendly,” adding that Iran and Armenia, along with “the other states in the region”, enjoy “inseparable” ties with each other.

According to IRNA, Mr. Ashotian had called Iran’s scientific progress “astounding” and had added that the two countries have plenty of opportunities for cooperation in the fields of education, science and research.

In his press conference in Yerevan, Mr. Ashotian also announced that the two countries will sign a cooperation agreement very shortly. Iran will provide 10 scholarships to Armenian graduate students in specific fields such as Iranian and Islamic Studies and will establish a center of Armenian Studies at one of its institutions.

Winners

The recognition of YSU, YSMU and SEUA degrees will surely increase the Iranian student inflow into these institutions. Iranian students, who are charged higher tuition fees, have been a good source of income for YSU, YSMU and SEUA in the past 10 years.

Iran’s Ministry of Science cancelled its recognition of Armenian degrees last year due to widespread corruption in Armenian institutions, low quality of instruction in programs hosting Iranian students (programs taught in English at YSMU and SEUA), and the lack of student services. Indeed, Iranian students have been constantly reporting to their embassy in Yerevan on cases of maltreatment by university officers, instructors’ inability to teach in English, lower standards in courses taught to foreign students, instructors asking for bribes, insufficient instructional equipment and material (computer labs, etc.), in general, and their discriminatory allocation to foreign students.

In case of YSU that never opened a separate English language stream for foreign students, the main problem was the institution’s policy to admit massive numbers of Iranian students to its doctorate programs and letting them earn degrees on less stringent bases. This attracted many Iranian civil servants who by getting an easy doctorate were automatically granted promotions.

It is not yet known what commitments Mr. Ashotian has made to his Iranian counterparts in terms of dealing with all these problems.

The recognition of YSU, YSMU and SEUA degrees will also be a very good news for all the other actors who, directly or indirectly, have benefited from the Iranian student inflow. The rather well-organized ‘corruption chain’ has typically included certain staff at the Armenian Embassy in Iran who, in collaboration with local student recruitment agencies, handle applications and later issue student visas up to the officers and staff at the Armenian Ministry of Education’s International Division who handle international admissions and allocate applicants to different HEIs. One should also mention the immigration officers (OVIR) who issue and renew annual resident permits to international students.

Losers

One of the losers of the recent agreement is surely Yerevan State University of Architecture and Construction (YSUAC), another public HEI that has thrived on Iranian tuitions for a decade. It is unclear why YSUAC has been left out of the deal between the two ministers. Although corruption seems to be less of a problem at YSUAC, compared to the other 3 institutions, its International Division is known to be the least considerate of foreign student needs and its teaching staff the least prepared to teach in a language other than Armenian and Russian.

As to the Iranian students themselves, who are not exactly the best Iranian students going abroad but still have certain expectations on the quality of education and student services for which they pay, it will all depend on whether the hosting HEIs will be able to improve their offerings and practices in the future. Based on the past experiences and the inability of Armenian HEIs to improve themselves, I am afraid, they will be the main losers.

Following Armenian Minister of Education and Science Mr. Armen Ashotian’s 4 day visit to Iran (21-25 May), it has been announced that Iran is ready to reconsider its decision not to recognize degrees granted by 3 Armenian HEIs: Yerevan State University (YSU), Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU) and State Engineering University of Armenia (SEUA). Iran’s recognition of Armenian degrees will most probably result in a major increase in the number of Iranian students coming to Armenia; an excellent news for all those who have traditionally thrived on the ‘Iranian student business.’

Presenting the results of his recent visit to Tehran, Mr. Ashotian said at a press conference that Iran has shown ‘the appropriate political will’ and before the next academic year, its Deputy Minister of Science and Technology will visit Yerevan to discuss bilateral issues.

Mr. Ashotian added that the Iranian side attaches great importance to its cooperation with Armenia in the fields of education and science. This was particularly stressed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his meeting with the Armenian delegation.

Previously, the Iranian official news agency IRNA had reported that ‘Dr. Ahmadinejad’ had called bilateral relations with Armenia as “fraternal and friendly,” adding that Iran and Armenia, along with “the other states in the region”, enjoy “inseparable” ties with each other.

According to IRNA, Mr. Ashotian had called Iran’s scientific progress “astounding” and had added that the two countries have plenty of opportunities for cooperation in the fields of education, science and research.

In his press conference in Yerevan, Mr. Ashotian also announced that the two countries will sign a cooperation agreement very shortly. Iran will provide 10 scholarships to Armenian graduate students in specific fields such as Iranian and Islamic Studies and will establish a center of Armenian Studies at one of its institutions.

Winners & Losers

The recognition of YSU, YSMU and SEUA degrees will surely increase the Iranian student inflow into these institutions. Iranian students, who are charged higher tuition fees, have been a good source of income for YSU, YSMU and SEUA in the past 10 years.

Iran’s Ministry of Science cancelled its recognition of Armenian degrees last year due to widespread corruption in Armenian institutions, low quality of instruction in programs hosting Iranian students (programs taught in English at YSMU and SEUA), and the lack of student services. Indeed, Iranian students have been constantly reporting to their embassy in Yerevan on cases of maltreatment by university officers, instructors’ inability to teach in English, lower standards in courses taught to foreign students, instructors asking for bribes, insufficient instructional equipment and material (computer labs, etc.), in general, and their discriminatory allocation to foreign students.

In case of YSU that never opened a separate English language stream for foreign students, the main problem was the institution’s policy to admit massive numbers of Iranian students to its doctorate programs and letting them earn degrees on less stringent bases. This attracted many Iranian civil servants who by getting an easy doctorate were automatically granted promotions.

It is not yet known what commitments Mr. Ashotian has made to his Iranian counterparts in terms of dealing with all these problems.

The recognition of YSU, YSMU and SEUA degrees will also be a very good news for all the other actors who, directly or indirectly, have benefited from the Iranian student inflow. The rather well-organized ‘corruption chain’ has typically included certain staff at the Armenian Embassy in Iran who, in collaboration with local student recruitment agencies, handle applications and later issue student visas up to the officers and staff at the Armenian Ministry of Education’s International Division who handle international admissions and allocate applicants to different HEIs. One should also mention the immigration officers (OVIR) who issue and renew annual resident permits to international students.

As to the Iranian students themselves, who are not exactly the best Iranian students going abroad but still have certain expectations on the quality of education and student services for which they pay, it will all depend on whether the hosting HEIs will be able to improve their offerings and practices in the future. Based on the past experiences and the inability of Armenian HEIs to improve themselves, I am afraid, they will be the main losers.

An atheist family has won a case on compulsory religion classes in Turkey. According to the lawyer representing the atheist couple, the number of similar cases is increasing as more non-believers and members of other religions file lawsuits.

According to Anatolia news agency, via Hurriyet Daily News, an administrative court in Istanbul has ruled on 25 May 2010 that the child of an atheist couple can be exempt from compulsory religion classes at a primary school.

The couple first lodged a petition with the local administrator’s office in Eyüp, an Istanbul district known for its conservatism, to have their 4-grade child exempted from religion classes.

The office rejected the family’s request on the grounds that the religion class is compulsory in schools according to the Constitution.

The family then filed a lawsuit with the local administrative court which decided, by consensus, that the family had the right to have their child exempted from the classes.

Along with Christian and Jewish citizens, atheists should have the right to be exempt from religion classes, the court said, adding that the Turkish Constitution and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms protect freedom of belief.

“Religious and Moral Education” is a compulsory course for primary school students in accordance with Article 24 of the Turkish Constitution, which was prepared after the 1980 military coup and approved by a public referendum in 1982.

Despite this, the Council of State found compulsory religious classes in primary and secondary schools to be against the law based on its content in a 2008 ruling.

The classes have been especially criticized for allegedly only teaching Sunni Islam. Alevis, members of a community widely perceived as a liberal branch of Islam whose religious practices differ markedly from those of Turkey’s Sunni majority, have been fighting to abolish compulsory religious lessons or at least amend their content.

The Turkish government, which is slowly proceeding with European Union accession talks, amended the textbooks, but many Alevis remain unsatisfied.

Last year, the European Court of Human Rights upheld the right of an Alevi child to opt out of religion classes.