Preschool education standard to be applied in Armenia`s kindergartens 

ArmInfo. The preschool education standard will be introduced everywhere in kindergartens in Armenia. The National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia is  discussing the amendments to the law "On Preschool Education" in the  second and final reading at the plenary session on March 4.

Presenting the amendments, Deputy Minister of Education, Science,  Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia Araksiya Svadjyan noted  that technical amendments were made to the bill for the second  reading, which allowed bringing the document into proper form. No  substantive changes were made to the bill. The Deputy Minister noted  that work has been underway in recent years to introduce the  preschool education standard. It has already been introduced in  almost 530 kindergartens. Within the framework of this standard,  there is a need to adopt some provisions, and therefore amendments to  the law are being proposed. In particular, as Svadzhyan emphasized,  the draft law proposes to introduce the concept of "mentor  kindergarten", which will allow educational institutions and  educators working in these institutions to also conduct training in  kindergartens where the preschool education standard will be  implemented.  There are 23 kindergartens to be commissioned in the  2024-25 academic year. During the year, 350 kindergarten teachers  were retrained and prepared for the implementation of the standard.

Another change affects the licensing area. According to the document,  by 2024, organizations providing preschool education, including  private ones, were to obtain a license, and within this order, 150  preschool educational institutions received a license. Of these, 87  were licensed in 2024 alone. The proposed amendment stipulates that a  license can be obtained by an organization that has the status of a  legal entity.  The concepts of "alternative preschool service" and  "preschool service" are also clarified.

The following proposed amendments concern replenishment of the  shortage, especially in the regions, of teaching staff in  kindergartens, retraining of nannies, and reimbursement of  transportation costs.

Another proposal concerns the requirement for heads of kindergartens.  According to the current regulation, they must have teaching  experience. It is proposed to establish a requirement for teaching or  scientific and teaching experience.

Today, about 82,760 children receive preschool education, and that  number is growing every year, Svadzhyan said.