YEREVAN, JUNE 14, NOYAN TAPAN. This year the second - centralized stage of university entrance examinations will start on July 20. The RA deputy minister of education and science Ara Avetisian stated at the June 14 press conference that the reception of entrants' applications will take place on June 15 - July 15. This year entrance examinations will finish earlier than in the previous years when exams used to finish on August 16. The deputy minister said that it becomes possible thanks to the use of exam rooms in which the centralized examinations on the Armenian language and literature have been held. According to A. Avetisian, the guide book "Entrant 2007" has already been published. It contains all respective regulatory documents and decisions of the Armenian government. The deputy minister announced that changes have been made neither in the program examination materials nor in the assessment criteria. In the words of the deputy minister, for 2007-2008 academic year, the state has allocated 4,132 places with full compensation of educational payment in the form of scholarships (free places) and 5,881 places with partial discount for educational payment (paid places) - according to higher educational institutions and specialities.

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