ArmInfo. New models of education will be introduced in Armenia. Amendments to the law "On General Education" were introduced at a plenary meeting of the Parliament on January 24.
As RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Arayik Harutyunyan noted in his speech, the presented document is part of the program for reforming the education system. In particular, it is planned to introduce a distance learning system, within which the student and teacher will be able to communicate with each other through electronic systems. Today, in the general educational system of Armenia, there are a number of problems, including understaffed classes, rural schools, where students of different classes study together. The minister also noted the lack of professional staff, the remoteness of schools from some villages, which leads to problems with attendance. Currently, schools in the republic lack teachers. The matter concerns about 1 thousand teachers. The distance learning system will solve this problem. For these purposes, a Distance Learning Center has been set up, with which the educational institutions of the republic will be able to conclude an agreement to organize the training process. Representatives of the Diaspora will also be involved in the program. Another innovation concerns the introduction of a credit education system, which will be extended to students in grades 10-12, and which provides for a credit assessment of knowledge gained in various subjects. Also, approaches to the election of school principals will be changed. They, in particular, undertake to pass exams and obtain an appropriate license. After that, candidates for school principals will have to be interviewed in the Teachers Council created for this purpose, and the interview will not go on the issues presented (this task is solved at the first stage when obtaining a license), but according to the applicant's visions for development programs. It is also planned to introduce an elite education system, which will be implemented in three stages.
The document also presents the principles and methodology of school financing, which are approved and implemented by the government. The ministry will approve training programs, a distance education system, a credit education system, ethical standards and other programs.