Land area: 29,743 sq km

Population:3.798 m (1998)

Including:2.536 m in towns (67 %)

1.262 m in villages (33 %)

GNP per capita: 430 USD in 1997

Capital City: Yerevan (1.3 m)

Religion: Christianity, Armenian Apostolic Church

Currency: Dram, exchange rate - 540 Drams=1.00 USD

As of 1.7.1999

Population Growth: 0.3%

Average Life Expectancy: 70.3 for males, 77.3 for women

Secondary Education -10 years

Length of Compulsory Education -8 years

Enrollment in Primary Education - 95 %

Share of Education in GNP -2.3%

Share of Education in the Budget (1998) –10

Concerned with education in their countries, high-level representatives of 155 countries signed the World Declaration on Education for All at the World Conference on Education for All held in Jomtien (Thailand), March 1990. This document is as important as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights accepted by the international community.

The Declaration of Education for All is an endeavor to raise the participating countries’ awareness about the importance of education in order that they identify common international education issues and join efforts to solve. The Declaration has formulated six issues that need to be addressed without further delay.

First is the target of expanding of early childhood care and developmental activities, including family and community interventions with a special focus on poor, disadvantaged and disabled children.

The second target includes increasing of the level of compulsory education and obligatory involvement of all children in it. In many countries, it is primary education seen as a major issue, in others it is basic education, in some others it is secondary education.

The third target is increasing learning achievement or completing of basic education by 80 percent of 14-15 year-olds.

The fourth target is elimination of the adult illiteracy rate by at least half of the 1990 level.

The fifth target is providing training to young people and adults in new professions as well as new skills to enable them to engage in new jobs.

The sixth target is dissemination of knowledge, skills and values to families and individuals for better living provided through media and other communication outlets.

At the Conference in Jomtien, the participating countries assumed responsibility to exert the best efforts to achieve the enumerated target dimensions. They were given the authority to revise the proposed target dimensions by setting their own targets. The participants of the Jomtien Conference agreed to organize another conference in the year 2000 where state parties would present their national reports on past accomplishments and findings to discuss plans for the first decade of the new millenium.

In Armenia, the first official information about the Declaration on Education for All was received in the beginning of 1999. That is why our country has not made any Government decisions in that behalf. Over the past ten years, political and social transformations in the country have had their impact on the system of education, causing the decrease of many indicators.

This National Report is an attempt to describe the situation in the country’s education sector and implemented reforms as well as to assess the past ten years’ accomplishments measured against the Jomtien Conference target dimensions.

National Assessment Co-ordinator R. Gabrielian

Education in Armenia has existed over millennia and at all times has been regarded as the main factor in maintaining national identity and national heritage.

Before the creation of their own alphabet, Armenians used the Aramaic or Greek alphabets. Although not accessible to large population groups, schools started from the II century B.C. and offered instruction in foreign languages. In the IV century A.D., King Tiridat issued an edict on opening a large number of Greek and Assyrian schools that would select endowed children and provide education through appointed tutors and teachers who would be paid salaries from the state treasury.

By an edict of King Vramshapouh, the first Armenian schools were opened in the V century immediately after the invention of the Armenian alphabet by the eminent Armenian enlightener and teacher Mesrop Mashtots and were run by the state. In the schools created by Mashtots, education was free of charge, serving pupils of different age groups. Mashtots wrote and translated textbooks for schools, one of the first being Solomon the Sage’s "Fable Book". Throughout its history, Armenian schooling has been invariably connected with the Armenian Apostolic Church. In times when Armenia lost its statehood, schools were maintained under the auspices of the church.

In the VII century, a milestone in the country’s educational development was Anania Shirakatsi’s school. Famed outside the country, the school provided knowledge in grammar, arithmetic, star systems, astrology, geography and calendar science. Shirakatsi’s books on arithmetic, astrology, calendar and pedagogical science enjoyed wide recognition. Shirakatsi emphasized the importance of teaching methods, and divided educational material by age groups.

Along with primary schools, schools of higher learning developed in Armenia. One of the first was Tatev’s Academy of the IX-X centuries. Later such schools opened in Sanahin, Haghpat, Ani and elsewhere. Students in schools of higher learning studied theology, philosophy, rhetoric, grammar, literature, art, etc. Grigor Magistros, an educator of that time, emphasized the principle of going from simple to complex. In the first level, he included basic literacy, reading, arithmetic, in the second – music, geometry, astronomy, in the third – rhetoric art, theory of literature, grammar, mathematics, philosophy and theology. A disciple of Grikor Magistros, Hovhannes Sarkavag (XI-XII cc.) believed that education could be no use, unless the teacher was bound by love to the child. Education, he stated, should start from early childhood. The method of cognition is experience. The XII and XIII cc. were noted by the Armenian schools of Cilicia, some of which were state-owned. The teachers of these schools were paid from the state treasury. A prominent teacher in Cilicia was Catholicos Nersess Shnorhali who taught the children the alphabet and rules of conduct through poems.

In the XIII-XV cc., schools of higher learning or universities were initiated whose fame spread beyond the borders of the country. One of them was the University of Gladzor whose 700^th anniversary was celebrated in 1980 under the aegis of UNESCO. Renowned educators of the university, such as Nersess Mshetsi and Yessai Nchetsi created works on philosophy, grammar, rhetoric art, biology, history and theology. According to Yessai Nchetsi, education is a national task and should be taken care of by the state. Hundreds of students graduated from the university with scientific degrees and titles. Among them was Hovhan Vorotnetsi who re-established the University of Tatev. A proud center of education and science for the whole of the nation, the University had three departments - musical, esthetical and philosophical. A number of schools were established under the University. Grikor Tatevatsi who has left a rich pedagogical legacy took over from Vorotnetsi. Tatevatsi’s placed a special emphasis on the age of students, their spiritual and intellectual abilities. Tatevatsi believed that education should start from the age of 6 by imparting simple knowledge, followed by a gradual provision of complex education. It is the teacher’s task to find out whether the child has grasped the learning material and whether he will be able to use it in practice. According to the "Education Rules" of Grikor Tatevatsi and Arakel Syunetsi’s, it is appropriate to consider the pupils’ age and the level of their intellectual development when streaming them into different groups. Teachers should offer easy learning material and use visual aid items suitable for the pupils’ abilities and knowledge.

In the XIV-XV cc., Armenian schools were operating in various parts of historic Armenia. Many of them had their libraries, many created their books and translated books from other languages. Over time, schoolbooks had to meet newly emerging requirements. Thus, little by little, schoolbooks were filled with graphic pictures, charts, diagrams, tables, etc. Teachers of chemistry, biology and other natural sciences used visual aids and laboratory equipment.

In medieval Armenia, apart from schools in churches, there were numerous secular and community schools accommodating children from various population groups. According to an established rule in these schools, education was free for orphans and children from poor families. The Judicial Code of Cilicia contained a provision on the provision of "light education" and bound the schools to serve as many children as possible.

An article on teaching methodology of the XV century kept in the Matenadaran, recommended the following way of conducting a lesson. At the beginning of the lesson, the teacher should get the students’ attention concentrated on the lesson. Then a student should go to the podium, bow and answer the teacher’s questions on the preceding lesson, followed by a summary of the material. The teacher should then explain the new lesson. Only then students could ask the teacher questions.

In the XVI-XVII cc., a large number of schools were forced to close because of foreign conquerors’ continual campaigns and violence. The school of Syunik continued to provide education to children (the Great Monastery near Tatev), building upon the tradition developed in Tatev. There was a distinguished school in Baghesh called Amrdolian which became a center for educational and cultural development.

In the XVII c., schools were opened in Agoulis, Nor-Jugha, Katin and elsewhere. The school in Katin had 250 pupils, including boys and girls. Before that, the girls mostly got family education.

In medieval Armenia, schools of higher learning conferred scientific degrees of ‘Archimandrite’ and ‘Rabbi’ upon their graduates. To have these degrees, the students passed oral and written examinations and defended theses. The schools used management rules. For instance, Costand Catholicos’ rules were widely used in the XIII c., of which one required that teachers be knowledgeable, skilled and well experienced. Children provided with education were the best, identified through selection.

Between the XVIII and XIX cc., Armenian educational centers operated in Venice (Mkhitarian College), India (Calcutta College), Moscow (Lazarian Seminary), Tiflis (Nersissian School), Echmiatsin (Gevorkian Seminary), Madras, Rostov and elsewhere.

The foundations of contemporary education were laid down during the first years of the first Armenian Republic (1918-1920) and subsequently developed in the Soviet era. In 1920, school was separated from the church and became secular. In 1920-30, mass illiteracy was eliminated owing to implemented reforms (a cultural revolution). In 1932, the transition to compulsory primary education made it possible to bring down the population’s illiteracy from 83% to 16% over a 7-8 year period. Extensive building of schools in the 60-ies made it possible to move toward compulsory secondary education. In the 70 years of Soviet power, the whole of the system of education was state-owned. Encompassing pre-school, vocational, secondary vocational and higher education subsystems, it ensured the country’s social-economic, cultural and scientific progress.

In 1988, the network of pre-school institutions comprised 1,229 nurseries, kindergartens and combination nursery kindergartens, serving some 162,900 children, or 44% of the reference population. Many kindergartens and nurseries operated using funding from factories, institutions and collective farms.

The general education system comprised 23 primary, 264 eight-year and 1,053 secondary schools (1,340 schools altogether) with an aggregate number of 592,300 pupils. Most schools were housed in a special type of school buildings allowing carrying out the education process of 88 % of pupils in one shift. The general education system included also 95 vocational schools attended by 30,000 students. There were special educational institutions for physically handicapped or mentally retarded children.

In 64 secondary professional institutions (vocational schools), 47,000 students specialized in 108 professions. The schools of higher learning had a student body of 65,000, specializing in 103 professions. From every thousand of the employed population, 192 and 222 had higher and secondary professional education respectively. In the 1988-89 school year, 83 percent of general education schoolteachers and 88 percent of specialists engaged in the professional educational system had higher education. The level of education in Armenia allowed to develop activities and research in the fields of hydro-energy, nuclear energy, radio-electronics, machinery production, precise machine-making, laser technology, biochemistry, microbiology, light and heavy textile industry.

Despite this overall positive situation, education in Soviet Armenia had a number of shortcomings and drawbacks:

1. the system of providing funding (‘leftover funding’) to education hindered its development. School funding for was provided after all the branches of economy were funded;
2. most school buildings lacked adequate conditions, there were many problems that continued all the way through; schools did not have enough technical equipment, specifically computers;
3. the strictly centralized management of the education sector, bureaucracy and authoritarian methods of administration, instructions from the above left no room for independence of the schools;
4. educational institutions used unified educational plans and methods for the whole country, i.e. the content of education was the same everywhere without taking into account national characteristics, traditions and culture;
5. all students were treated in the same way; there were no opportunities for alternative education, neither children’s abilities, nor likes or dislikes were taken into consideration.

Beginning from 1988, social and political events made sweeping changes in the country which had a substantive adverse impact on the education sector. The first heavy blow to education was the earthquake in 1988 December which destroyed or half-destroyed 277 schools and 245 kindergartens. In 1990, schools that used Russian as the language of instruction began to teach in Armenian. The teachers were not prepared for that change and that undermined the quality of education in these schools. Then there was the process of developing textbooks which was carried out following contradictory principles. Schools found themselves in chaos. The long-standing conflict with the neighboring republic (in the border area 51 schools and 13 kindergartens/nurseries were destroyed), the blockade imposed by the neighboring states and the energy crisis contributed to a sharp economic decline in Armenia. In 1992, GNP dropped by 55 % from the 1988 level. The political changes, the budget deficit and lack of resources reflected ill on education. Expenditures for education decreased 10 times in comparison to the years of Soviet rule (the average unit cost in 1998 was US 63 dollars in contrast to US 600 dollars in 1985).

There was a drastic fall in school construction and repair expenditures (in 1997, US 2 dollars per pupil). School building came to a near halt in the disaster area. The budget did not provide funding for publishing textbooks. All along the years of independence, schools were not provided with laboratory and other technical equipment and visual aid materials. The existing ones are obsolete and useless. Because of the energy crisis, the schools were not heated for several years and were forced to close down in wintertime. The result is the deterioration of the quality of education.

Continuous education comprises the following levels: preschool, secondary, professional and post-diploma education. The state provides free secondary education to all RA citizens.

Children with special education needs, orphans and abandoned children are served in special institutions (boarding schools).

The starting level in general education is preschool education. Its content is the basis upon which the following stage of continuous education builds up.

Preschool education is aimed at fostering conditions for the maintenance of children’s health, unfolding children’s intellectual, spiritual and physical abilities and providing a sound basis for educating a generation with national awareness and self-esteem.

The objectives of preschool education include:

• Creating the foundation for children’s physical, moral and intellectual development;
• Enabling children to communicate in the mother tongue and learn foreign languages building up on that;
• Developing elementary counting abilities;
• Providing knowledge about elementary rules of behavior, the natural environment, ecology, history of the nation and national culture;
• Instilling love for and devotedness to the motherland;
• Teaching basic working skills and abilities;
• Preparing for education at school.

State policy in preschool education is built on the pivotal role of the family. The main responsibility of childcare and education lies with the family. The state provides conditions fostering child education in families. To assist families, the state creates a network of preschool institutions – kindergartens and nurseries implementing various education plans.

The preschool education network operates mainly through state funding. Parents pay only for part of the food and parent payment levels are determined by the local self-governance bodies. Some preschool institutions are funded by communities and managed by local self-governance bodies. At present, preschool institutions include the following types: nurseries for 2-3 year-olds, kindergartens for 3-7 year-olds and nursery-kindergartens for 2-7 year-olds. A noted tendency over the past several years has been the creating of combination kindergarten-elementary schools, using kindergartens as the basis.

In 1998, the number of preschool institutions dropped to 986 from 1,334 in 1989 or by 26.1% (outlined in Table 1), accompanied by a drop in the rate of enrolment as well. In 1988, enrolment was at 40%, in 1998 to 21% (for 3-6 years old children).

Factors accounting for the decrease of enrolment rates in preschool education include:

• dire socio-economic situation following the country’s independence;
• limited employment which impels part of the women to stay at home and look after children;
• worsening of conditions in kindergartens (e.g. insufficient heating) and increasing fees.

During these years, kindergarten teachers, musical teachers and others have been out of demand. 35% of them have higher education, 55% have secondary professional education and only 8% have no professional education (see Table 2). Today, the ratio of teacher and kindergarten child stands at 1:8.

In its education policy, the RA Government is guided by the following:

• enhancement of household welfare;
• fostering preschool education in families by providing methodological support to parents;
• cooperation of parents and kindergartens in organizing educational activities.

Table 1

Table 2

The aim of general education is to create conditions fostering the disclosure, education and development of intellectual, spiritual and physical capabilities of citizens.

The main objectives of general education are to:

• provide fundamental knowledge about nature, technology, production and ecology, by creating adequate conditions for self-education and self-development;
• familiarize individuals and citizens with international and national values, the national culture, morale and psychology and ensure that they are actively involved in civil matters;
• implement a project, providing students with military-patriotic education and preliminary military training.

Secondary general education is implemented by a three-level secondary general education lasting a total of 10 years, including the following levels:

• Primary school (1-3 grades);
• Intermediate school (4-8 grades);
• Senior school (9-10 grades).

An educational institution can incorporate one or several of these grades.

Primary school education is aimed at the formation of language thinking and logic, the provision of preliminary learning and labor skills, familiarization with national and international values.

In 1995-1999, primary school education lasted four years, therefore pupil enrollment is presented for four years. Literacy of pupils is mainly achieved in primary school. In Armenia, enrollment in primary schooling is 100%. At the end of the fourth grade, pupils’ learning achievement is evaluated through two examinations – Mathematics and Armenian. To pass them, they need to demonstrate an established minimum of knowledge.

The second level of general education is provided in the intermediate school. It is aimed at teaching healthy lifestyles, providing pupils with scientific understanding of the world and the nature, and a minimum knowledge required for independent activities in society.

Compulsory for all, primary and intermediate schools together provide basic education. The plan and curriculum for basic education are universal. Basic education is completed by an attestation of students in Mathematics, the Armenian Language and a Foreign Language. Those passing the examinations are given a certificate. Basic school enrollment stands at about 97%.

The majority of basic school graduates continue their education in the following level of secondary education, i.e. senior school, or go to a vocational school.

The third level of general education is provided by senior school, aimed at ensuring pupils’ preparedness in general education. To meet their preferences, predilections and capabilities, differentiated education can be offered through supplementary education.

In senior school, different education plans and differentiated curricula are implemented. At the end of secondary education, pupils have to pass state examinations in Mathematics, the Armenian Language and History of the Armenian Nation.

Senior school enrollment, including vocational schools, comprises 76% of the reference population.

In Armenia, along with state educational institutions, there are 26 non-governmental (private) schools serving a total of 1,987 pupils.

From 1992, there has been a drastic cut in public funding for schools which at present is estimated a mere 2% of GNP. As a result, average unit costs have decreased. Many teachers left their workplace at schools which had a negative impact on the level of qualifications of the teaching force of the day. At present, 80% of 60,000 teachers have higher and intermediate professional pedagogical education, 2% have incomplete higher education, 10% have intermediate professional non-pedagogical education and only 8% have secondary education. 3% of teachers hold scientific degrees or high attestation grades. One out of every 6 teachers is a pensioner. Teacher/pupil ratios are low, at 1:10.

The situation is far better in non-governmental schools. In 23 private schools of Armenia, the number of employed is 530 of whom 30% are with a scientific degree, 12% are scientific workers or attested teachers, the rest have higher education.

During the years of independence, enormous work was done to change the content of education. New programs were developed, including differentiated programs, new schoolbooks were prepared, both basic and alternative. However, activities in that area were not co-ordinated and led to an overall confusion. What was more, parents could not afford to buy schoolbooks.

To address the situation, the Government developed a reform program with the World Bank and has started implementing it.

Over the past decade, the general structure, organization and financing of the general education system has changed a great deal. The former centralized system has been replaced by a decentralized system with an emphasis on school self-management. Decentralization of schools was initiated in 1996 when people’s education divisions were dissolved and school management was transferred to the education divisions in marzpet offices. The latter were responsible for the organization, oversight and appointment of school headmasters. Bank accounts were opened for schools.

Substantive changes were made to school charters in accordance with RA Government Decision No.263 of July 11. The School Council was determined the supreme body of school management responsible for approving estimated costs, the financial-economic report and electing the school headmaster. Implementation of this decision is carried out step by step.