Changes to draft state educational standard and subject standards discussed in Government

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan chaired a consultative meeting on the proposed key changes to the draft state standard of public education and subject standards.

Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Arayik Harutyunyan noted that the proposed fundamental changes seek to prepare the kind of a citizen we want to have in the future. According to him, the changes are aimed at building capacity in the sphere of public education: the new schooling standards will pay more attention to the content.

The drafts envisage radical reforms in high schools: introduction of modular education and a credit system, provision of equal opportunities for education in rural communities, application of the network school model, financing of public schools with maximum number of teaching hours. It is also planned to organize research work, study tours, and expand teachers’ tools. Mandatory project-based training will be introduced from the 7th grade, and there will be no point grading until the second half of the 5th grade; the unsatisfactory grade threshold will be canceled.

As part of the proposed changes, 8 abilities were assessed that can describe the vision of a citizen after graduation. The meeting took note of the proposed key subject changes, which stipulate that Armenian Language and Literature, History of Armenia, Mathematics and Foreign Language shall be considered as mandatory subjects.

A roadmap has been developed to implement the above changes. The amendments have been discussed with more than 1,500 teachers nationwide, who presented their own proposals. At the same time, it was reported that the substitution of textbooks will start in 2021, and a full-fledged system will be introduced from 2022.

The Prime Minister stressed the need for in-depth reforms to improve the quality of public education, and in this context, highlighted the steps aimed at expanding the teaching of foreign languages at schools. Nikol Pashinyan told the Minister to finalize the drafts based on the proposals submitted during public discussions.

“The quality of public education is an integrity that corresponds to our economic, political and strategic ideas,” the Prime Minister said, highlighting the fact that the proposed public education changes go in tune with the strategies adopted by his government. The Premier instructed the stakeholders to launch a broad public awareness raising campaign over the proposed changes.