On 29 May, the heads of CSOs participating in the Civil Society Organizations (CSO) incubators in the framework of the EU funded “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” project met with Mr. Hovhannes Hovhannisyan, the Deputy Minister of Education and Science.
Marat Atovmyan, Mentors’ Group Coordinator/Justice and Related Sectors Mentor of the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” Project presented the program and the options for the future cooperation.
Hovhannes Hovhannisyan noted that he has come to the ministry from the CSO sector and attaches great importance to the role of media in shaping public policy and influencing on them. “We always criticized those authorities who are isolated from the society, because when you are isolated, you do not know exactly what happens or what is going on in the society. I attach great importance to our meeting, and the future cooperation, as well as will be open for all kinds of cooperation that will contribute to the development of our education,” Hovhannes Hovhannisyan said.
Mr. Levon Igityan, representative of Akhuryan Community Development Association raised the question of the future of the 12-year education. “This year Akhuryan community has been enlarged and 8 communities have joined it after the consolidation. Students from other schools should walk to Akhuryan center to continue their education, by the way, the transport does not work well, “he said.
The Deputy Minister replied that the announcement by the Minister of Education and Science Arayik Harutyunyan was misinterpreted by the mass media and the Ministry has not expressed such an opinion that 12-year education should be eliminated. “Neither the high school nor the magistrate obtain the necessary content. The issue is also related to transportation problems, and now we deal with those issues as there are international companies asking what they can do, and that is one of those issues,” Hovhannes Hovhannisyan said.
Artush Khachatryan, representative of the “Community Pulse” NGO, drew the Deputy Minister’s attention to the regional community musical schools. “Formerly, these musical schools were fully supervised by the Ministry, and now the community entirely governs it and pays salaries and it is possible that the head of the community is a person who is far from music, and that is a problem,” he said. According to him, specialties with limited capabilities and with low salaries work in these schools. Artush Khachatryan also mentioned the fact that the cultural centers are mainly concentrated in Yerevan, or in the large cities.
Ms Mariam Chakhoyan, representative of TukhManuk NGO, continued the theme noting that directors of art schools have no access to general education schools and to introduce the education offered by the art schools and to discover talented children. Reference was made to the tuition fees in art schools that were not approved. The Deputy Minister of Education and Science responded that the problem would be presented to the Minister, and presented a similar problem as well.” There is also a similar problem with pre-school institutions and kindergartens in Yerevan because they were free of charge in Yerevan and half paid in the provinces, as the parents paid half of the fee, and the other half was covered from community budget, which also leads to social inequality,” Hovhannes Hovhannisyan said.
At the end of the meeting, the Deputy Minister and representatives of the civil society decided to meet again in 1 or 2 months to discuss the existing and the expected programs.
The “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” project is implemented with the financial support of the European Union by a Consortium of civil society organisations, which are the Armenian Lawyers’ Association (lead organisation), Agora Central Europe (NGO based in the Czech Republic), the Armenian Centre for Democratic Education-CIVITAS, the International Centre for Human Development, the SME Cooperation Association and the Union of Communities of Armenia.
Alisa Chilingaryan
