Over five years, enrollment rate of children aged 3 to 5 in  preschools in Armenia increased from 64.3% to 81%

ArmInfo.  Over the past five years, the enrollment rate of children aged 3 to 5 in preschools in Armenia has increased from 64.3% to 81%. This was announced by Tamara Sargsyan, Head of the General Education Department of the Ministry of  Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of Armenia, during a press  conference on April 3.

She noted that, as part of the strategy, this figure should reach 95%  by 2030.

Sargsyan also reported that in 2021, there were 229 settlements in  Armenia without a single preschool institution. Today, the number of  such communities has decreased to 87. According to the head of the  Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, a study is currently  underway of areas that could be allocated for the construction of  preschool institutions.

At the same time, Sargsyan noted that legislative changes have been  introduced to increase access to preschool education. Specifically,  from now on, if a preschool institution is the only educational  center in a community, it can enroll children aged 3 years and older,  instead of the previously established threshold of 5 to 6 years.

In the case of kindergartens, they can enroll children aged 4 to 6  years.

Currently, according to her, there are 500 preschool institutions  operating in school buildings in the country. These institutions have  a separate entrance, separate restrooms, and all the necessary  conditions for organizing the educational process. The MESKS employee  also noted that within the framework of the program for the  construction of 300 schools and 500 kindergartens, work has been  completed on 301 facilities, of which 176 are kindergartens and 125  are preschool educational institutions.