YEREVAN. – Competitive conditions have to be created to attract investment for the implementation of the Armath laboratories program, Education Minister Arayik Harutyunyan said in the parliament on Wednesday.

At the same time, the minister noted that according to the program for 2020, the number of laboratories was planned to be increased by 422, however, the idea could not be implemented due to the lack of sufficient investments  

“Now we intend to increase the number of laboratories to 707, but we will continue the program if there are additional funds in a competitive environment,” Harutyunyan said. “We often hear rebukes that equipment of the labs is purchased from one company, which is a violation of the rules of competition. Probably it would be thanks to the competition that the effectiveness of the Armath program will be confirmed once again.”

The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports decided to reduce funding of Armath laboratories in Armenian schools in 2020. The decision was criticized by the Union of Advanced Technology Companies, an organization implementing the Armath program.