YEREVAN. - Schools should be kept as far from politics as possible.

Minister of Education and Science of Armenia, Levon Mkrtchyan, said the aforementioned at a Facebook press-conference with Radio Liberty on Tuesday, referring to the question of one of citizens as to whether he considers the elections fair when the entire school staff is included in the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) and the director invites all the parents and forces them to vote for the RPA.

“I believe that schools should be kept as far from politics as possible.  Why do I say as far as possible? Because in small communities, it is the school director and the faculty who form a political culture and you can’t tell them not to have political beliefs and party affiliation. In many countries schools turn into election districts, this meaning that no other building conditions actually exist. I believe that with the introduction of this electoral system, it will be difficult to tell a parent to vote for someone specific from those 12 or 14 persons included in the rating list. If the administrative leverage is used to force a person to join a party, this definitely weakens the party,” he said.