ArmInfo. From September 1, 18 preschool institutions will open in 8 communities of Armenia, and the construction of 21 rural schools are planned to be carried out next year. Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Arayik Harutyunyan announced this on August 20 during a working meeting with the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.
According to Harutyunyan, a total of 18 new preschool institutions were built in 8 communities of Armenia, in which major repairs were carried out. The institutions are equipped with new furniture and will be ready for delivery by September 1.
In addition, the Minister noted that next year it is planned to build 21 rural schools in different areas, calling this program unprecedented in scale.
Speaking about the problems of preschool educational institutions, Harutyunyan stated that only 38% of preschool children attend kindergartens, at the same time explaining that the number of children attending private kindergartens is not included in these data.
Pashinyan said that this indicator is very low, even if we take into account that another 10% attend private kindergartens and called it important to ensure the employment of mothers in this matter. In his opinion, children under 6 years old should attend kindergartens, thereby solving not only the educational problem, but also the economic problem, as women will be able to work.
Touching upon the issue of increasing teachers' salaries, the minister noted that the minimum wage threshold for the developed model is 108 thousand drams, which means that there will be no teachers receiving less than 108 thousand drams. He also explained how the new model will affect payroll on an equal footing.
<Large schools with a large reception have additional amounts, and redistribution occurs. Now, according to the new model, the attitude is changing, and the amounts that remained on the accounts of large schools will be redirected to more underfunded schools. That is, where there were many students, money was drawn there, and the rest was reduced payments>, the minister explained.
Touching upon the issue of the notorious privatization of kindergartens, Harutyunyan stated that in recent years many kindergartens have been privatized or transferred to other business entities for operation, however, these agreements are now being reviewed in Yerevan and kindergartens are being returned to the communities. The Prime Minister explained that criminal cases had already been opened in connection with this, expressing confidence that all privatized kindergartens would be returned to the communities.
Pashinyan also drew attention to a common problem with education in remote villages where there are not enough students. Harutyunyan noted that the problem has several solutions; one of them is distance education. Another model is to bring together students of the same age from several villages. To recall, earlier in a similar format, Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting with Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan.