YEREVAN. – The total number of first-graders in Armenia will become clear in around 10 days, Education Minister said in parliament on Wednesday.

“We said the number will be around 40,000,” Armen Ashotyan said.

He noted that decrease in number of first-graders is not a secret. During the last years of the Soviet Union, up to 70,000 children went to school every year, now we are happy to see even 40,000, Ashtonyan emphasized.

“The reason is not only migration, but declining birth rate over recent years,” he added.