Financing for equity in higher education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to institutions
3. Education resources to students
4. Support for students' living costs
Introduction
Key financing indicators (UIS Data)
The gross enrolment ratio for tertiary education for both sexes was 52.77 in 2024. The initial government funding per tertiary student as a percentage of GDP per capita was 7.06 in 2023. No data on the initial household funding per tertiary student as a percentage of GDP per capita is available from UIS.
Tuition-free status
Higher education is not universally tuition-free. The 2004 Law of the Republic of Armenia on Higher and Postgraduate Professional Education and subsequent amendments regulated public financing of higher education through a combination of merit-based admission, state-defined eligibility criteria, and targeted social and territorial support measures. Tuition-free study at state higher education institutions was primarily provided on a competitive basis, complemented by centrally administered financial support instruments targeting defined population groups and policy priorities. These included tuition compensation and scholarships for students forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, state scholarships for students enrolled in priority and strategically important fields of study, and other centrally funded mechanisms to improve access for socially vulnerable groups.
Following the adoption of the Law on Higher Education and Science in September 2025, the legal approach to tuition-free higher education in Armenia has shifted toward a principle-based framework grounded in accessibility, inclusivity, and equal opportunity. The law aims to shift the public higher education system toward a system-wide tuition-free model, replacing selective tuition waivers with institution-wide public financing mechanisms.
In parallel, the Education Development Strategy 2030 Action Plan envisages the establishment of up to eight higher education institutions operating with 100% state funding. The same law also provides for the consolidation and merger of public higher education institutions, with the objective of forming eight state-funded universities. If the consolidation process is fully implemented as envisaged, the entire public higher education system would operate under a tuition-free model.
Governance
The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport oversees the financing of higher education. MESCS is responsible for state policy, budget adoption, and supervision of budget execution, in accordance with the legal framework established by the 2004 Law of the Republic of Armenia on Higher and Postgraduate Professional Education.
The Law on Higher Education and Science, which was ratified in September 2025, has strengthened the Ministry’s system-level steering role, linking public financing more explicitly to national policy objectives, including access, inclusion, and institutional differentiation. Financing decisions are increasingly embedded within a consolidated governance framework, in which state budget allocations, institutional missions, and public accountability mechanisms are coordinated through government decisions and medium-term budget planning instruments, rather than relying solely on historical allocation practices.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
Financial resources are allocated exclusively at the central government level, approved through the state budget, and administered by MESCS in coordination with the Ministry of Finance. Public funds are transferred directly from the central government to higher education institutions, without involvement from regional or municipal authorities.
2. Education resources to institutions
Funding for private universities in the absence of public institutions
Under the 2004 Law of the Republic of Armenia on Higher and Postgraduate Professional Education, accredited non-state higher education institutions were eligible to enroll students who could receive state support on a competitive basis. Public financing for students enrolled in private institutions was provided through state-funded student benefits and tuition fee reimbursements, implemented in accordance with government-defined, needs-based policies and eligibility criteria, rather than through direct institutional subsidies. These support mechanisms were not explicitly conditioned on the absence of a comparable public higher education institution offering the same programme or operating in the same geographic area.
The 2025 Law on Higher Education and Science no longer specifies this mechanism in statutory form. Instead, it establishes a uniform legal framework applicable to both public and private institutions, grounded in principles of accessibility, inclusivity, and equal opportunity. Within this framework, state support for students enrolled in private higher education institutions remains possible but is contingent on secondary legislation, government decisions, and annual state budget programmes, rather than on a predefined entitlement embedded in primary law.
Allocation and equity
In accordance with the 2004 Law on Higher and Postgraduate Professional Education, subsidies to public higher education institutions were primarily allocated through direct state budget transfers. Funding was distributed largely as block grants, covering core costs such as staff salaries and operational expenditures, with levels set according to the type, size, and historic enrollment data of each university. State funding represents a minority of overall funding for higher education.
The same law also provided for free higher education for citizens from borderline and highland settlements through a separate, competitive admission procedure distinct from the general competition, functioning as a targeted subsidy mechanism for geographically disadvantaged groups. More broadly, equity considerations within the higher education financing system were addressed through centrally designed and administered instruments, rather than through regional quotas or intergovernmental fiscal transfers. These instruments included the competitive allocation of state-funded study places, centrally managed scholarships and grants, tuition fee compensation schemes, and student loan programs.
Following the adoption of the Law on Higher Education and Science in September 2025, the allocation of public funding to higher education institutions is situated within a revised system-level governance framework. While direct state budget transfers remain the primary channel of public financing, the new law strengthens the linkage between funding, institutional missions, system restructuring objectives, and national policy priorities, including accessibility and inclusion. The law provides a statutory basis for further differentiation of funding instruments through government decisions, including performance- and mission-oriented components, alongside baseline institutional financing.
3. Education resources to students
Admission for vulnerable groups
The 2004 Law on Higher and Postgraduate Professional Education and its subsequent amendments guaranteed citizens residing in borderline and highland settlements the right to receive free higher education at state institutions on a competitive basis. The conditions for these students were also set by the government but differ from the general conditions mentioned above to facilitate their preferred admission.
Within the new legal framework, equity-oriented measures, such as preferential access and financial support for residents of borderline and highland settlements, are no longer articulated as stand-alone statutory entitlements but are aligned with the law’s overarching principles of equal opportunity and social inclusion. The specific design and implementation of such targeted support mechanisms are governed through secondary legislation and annual state budget programmes, allowing for adjustment in line with evolving policy priorities and demographic needs.
Scholarships, grants and loans for vulnerable groups
The 2024 Education Sector Budget includes several targeted equity-oriented support measures for higher education students. The legal and regulatory basis for scholarships, grants, and loan-related support for vulnerable groups in higher education is established primarily through secondary legislation and government decisions, which operationalize state support mechanisms within the broader framework set by higher education law. These instruments define the procedures for tuition fee reimbursement and scholarship provision for socially vulnerable students, including targeted compensation schemes for specific groups such as students affected by forced displacement, as well as transitional arrangements for those enrolled prior to displacement.
Specifically, AMD 66.3 million to partially reimburse student loan interest payments, offering indirect financial relief to students who rely on borrowing to finance their studies. In addition, AMD 440.2 million is allocated for scholarship schemes providing full or partial reimbursement of tuition fees for students belonging to specific vulnerable categories defined through government decisions. In 2024, a substantial portion of this allocation is directed toward students forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh after 19 September 2023 who are enrolled in higher and postgraduate professional education programmes in the Republic of Armenia. This support is implemented through tuition compensation mechanisms, rather than direct institutional subsidies.
4. Support for students’ living costs
Transportation
No information was found on centralised initiatives to provide support for student transport. However, municipal initiatives to support subsidised transport exist and often include students enrolled in higher education. In Yerevan, university students are eligible for a 15% discount on public transport fares, and orphaned university students can travel free of charge, as part of a broader city initiative to improve access for vulnerable social groups.
Accommodation
The 2004 Law on Higher and Postgraduate Professional Education stipulates that a learner at a higher education institution is entitled to be provided with relevant space in the residence hall, contingent upon two conditions: the availability of a residence hall at the institution and a need for accommodation. This provision is carried out as prescribed by the higher education institution. The law does not specify the funding source for student accommodation.
The 2024 Education Sector Budget allocated AMD 35 million to reimburse accommodation fees in Yerevan for regional and foreign students, helping to offset living costs for those studying away from home.
The Education Development Strategy 2030 Action Plan envisages a significant expansion of student housing infrastructure, with the government committing to increase the number of university dormitories by at least 50% by 2030, as a complementary measure to improve accessibility, equity, and geographic mobility within the higher education system.
Textbooks
No information was found on specific support for purchasing student textbooks at the higher education level.
This profile was reviewed by Arevik Ohanyan, Doctoral Candidate in Higher Education Administration (Executive EdD), Boston College; Founding Board Member, Eurasia International University and Ohanyan Educational Complex (pre-K through K12); Education Reform Consultant.
