Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan continues to listen to reports on the activities carried out by public administration bodies in 2019, and today, he listened to a report on the activities completed by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport. Among the attendees were representatives of the Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Diaspora, Youth and Sport of the National Assembly of Armenia.
Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Arayik Harutyunyan delivered a report on the events held during 2019 and the first four months of 2020 (18 preschools and kindergartens were established, another 425 children between 5 and 6 were enrolled in preschool education). This year, another 21 preschools and kindergartens will be built. For the first time ever, 13,000 children were enrolled in the first grade through an electronic system in Yerevan.
The parliament adopted a new law on preschool education that envisages major changes. Teachers’ salaries have been raised by 10% for the first time in the past decade. Due to COVID-19, education has become remote since March 16, and there has been 80% turnout.
According to the minister, one of the best programs of 2019 was the provision of modern equipment and laboratories for natural science subjects at all high schools in Yerevan and Armenia’s provinces.
As for cultural programs, Harutyunyan set aside the events dedicated to the 150th anniversary of Komitas and the 150th anniversary of Hovhannes Tumanyan which were held at a high level in Armenia and abroad. The ministry also provided support to the implementation of 12 inclusive cultural education programs and mainly in Armenia’s provinces.
As far as the results recorded in the field of sports, the minister stated that the top 10 athletes of the year received lump-sum payments (AMD 5,000,000) for the first time ever, and 56 athletic institutions received 99 brand name equipment.
Touching upon the completion of the 2019-23 Action Plan of the Government’s Program, the minister stated that certain actions have been partially completed due to the structural procedures and development of strategies.
In response to the Prime Minister’s questions, the minister provided clarifications regarding the activities being carried out in this context and reported on the development of sector-specific strategies and the completion of the Prime Minister’s assignments.
The head of government particularly touched upon the educational reforms and emphasized that they are a priority. According to Pashinyan, the whole concept paper needs to be developed on the basis of the content of education-quality of instruction-adequate infrastructure chain. He also attached importance to teacher training.
The reforms for higher education, science and vocational education and the future actions were also discussed. Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan also presented the initiatives that are being carried out in this direction within the scope of the “Work, Armenia” Program.
