Republican Party of Armenia

 Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan attended the opening of the regional conference of EU Eastern Partnership and Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) countries’ education ministers. On October 17-18, the forum will be discussing the development prospects of the European Higher Education Area.

Welcoming the guests, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan noted that the main topic of the conference is among his government’s top priorities: “We live in a rapidly changing world, with the governments worldwide trying to choose the right strategy for action. The heads of government in attendance of this year’s Summer Davos in China discussed modern challenges in order to find the best response to them. Finally, the participants agreed that continued educational reform is the best response to challenges. We need a generation that can live in a rapidly changing world with ever-increasing share of uncertainty,” Tigran Sargsyan said.

According to Tigran Sargsyan, the younger generation should first of all have the ability of living in a fast changing world, which means that young people need fresh thinking tools. The Premier is convinced that reform in higher education should be considered as a whole chain covering kindergartens, schools, universities and training programs, since the modern world necessitates lifelong education.

"The mere fact of getting a university degree does not still mean that you can cope with modern challenges. You should always seek new knowledge. At the same time, it seems to be obvious that as the foundation of modern societies, universities need appropriate infrastructure liaising knowledge and industry,” the Prime Minister stressed addressing the audience. Tigran Sargsyan expressed hope that the conference may prompt the answers to success.

Organized within the framework of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers and Armenia’s presidency at the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), the conference is attended by Armenian Minister of Education and Science Armen Ashotyan, Head of EU Delegation to Armenia Traian Hristea, Head of Council of Europe Department of Education Shour Bergen and education experts from different European countries.