Relationship Between Higher Education and Poverty in Armenia

Abstract

At present, one of the most important characteristics of higher education is the massification, leading to a continuous increase in the number of those receiving education. However, higher education is still characterized by "elitism" and essential underrepresentation of poor and other vulnerable groups of population. In this paper, the correlation between higher education and poverty in Armenia as a key issue of social dimension has been studied and compared with the situation in different countries. The study was conducted by combining the methods of components of financial and economic analysis with educational research. The analysis of the collected data clearly shows that equity of higher education is not ensured in Armenia; in particular, the opportunities for entry into, progress and successful completion of higher education are critically unequal for young people from poor and prosperous families. The analysis also revealed that tuition fees and other education related costs is the main barrier in terms of receiving higher education. The research findings showed beyond doubt that poverty is a real obstacle in terms of receiving higher education, and not having higher education is a real danger of becoming poor.