Author: Badalian Vardan

Times of Oman, Oman
June 29 2004
Oman Mobile unveils new plans to serve you wherever you are

By Sharifa Al Kindi
MUSCAT – Oman Mobile yesterday unveiled further plans to fulfil its
pledge to `serve the customers wherever they are’.
`We hope to serve our customers wherever they are, through
innovative, simple and tailor-made solutions and services,
value-added features and to introduce a positive impact on the
national economy in general,’ said Dr Amer bin Awadh Al Rawas,
managing director of Oman Mobile Telecommunications Company, at a
press conference held at Hotel Grand Hyatt yesterday.
These plans include the opening of a large multimedia contact centre,
GPRS and MMS services and other services such as
transmitting/receiving photos, music, video and roaming facilities
for Hayyak (prepared card).
The press conference was also addressed by Dr Rasheed Alsafi Al
Huraibi, assistant head of Networks Division; Erik Van Essen, deputy
managing director; and Adil Al Raisi, head of customer service, who
explained to the gathering the details of the new company, its aims,
concepts and strategies.
The multimedia contact centre will `attend to the calls, SMS,
e-mails, fax enquiries, complaints, etc. A customer can even send us
an SMS for his/her bills, and it will be well attended to. This
multimedia call centre will be well staffed, with over 150 personnel
to attend to calls promptly. We will also be introducing multi-access
billing and collection system for our customers to increase their
convenience to pay the bills,’ said Adil Al Raisi.
Oman Mobile believes that growth of the telecommunications sector is
possible through `balanced and meticulously planned concepts and
strategies,’ stressed Al Rawas.
`Our aim is to provide a wide spectrum of telecom services round the
clock. Our first priority is to concentrate on both customers and
services that we provide; introduction of more value-added services,
expansion of company’s services and products portfolio, and
activation of the partnership with both public and private sectors.
We believe and aim to provide telecom services as an acquired right
for every citizen at an affordable price for all community sectors.
Oman Mobile will implement significant projects and will facilitate
more services in the months to come, in addition to increasing the
number of the trained Omani in the telecom field,’ Al Rawas stressed.
As part of the official launch they have waived off deposits for
post-paid users and cut down prices on the pre-paid Hayyak tariffs
and rates. This has been possible because `we now have grown in
technology; we have better internal systems and standards. Earlier
the deposits were levied because of the fear of bad debts, but now
with this waiver on deposits of post-paid users, we are bound to grow
in both sectors tremendously,’ he added.
The GSM subscriber population in the Sultanate recorded 220,745 in
2003, jumped to 232,663 in May 2004, whereas pre-paid Hayyak
subscriber population, which was 359,359 last year, increased to
409,000 last May.
`And we are sure it is going to be mutually beneficial, for both the
customers as well as for the telecoms sector in general,’ Al Rawas
said.
Speaking of value-added services being introduced, Al Rawas said
further to the recently introduced `Hala’ service enabling the
subscribers to receive various subject/channel selected information,
Oman Mobile has also put forward the GPRS and MMS services as a pilot
project prior to putting them into practical service in the near
future.
As far as the international roaming service, the number of the
international mobile service operators which have active roaming
agreements with Oman Mobile have reached 115 operators in 65
countries in various continents. New agreements were signed recently
to provide the roaming service in Russia, Iran, Bulgaria, New Zealand
and Armenia.
Highlighting the importance of the roaming services, Al Rawas said:
`There were lots of complexities in acquiring the roaming facility
with a new country. Especially if Oman did not have any business or
tourist tie-ups with those nations. In the past we have faced great
difficulties in getting the roaming facilities in various countries.
Now it has been made easier. New mechanisms, new professionalism, new
ideas, new strategies have enabled Oman Mobile to achieve roaming
over many countries. We keep an eye on the economic development and
tie-ups our country has internationally and then tap the source.
These agreements are good for the economy of our nation too. Today we
have strong international links and we were able to bring in
countries who were previously hesitant to enter into an agreement.
The brand identity and logo for Oman Mobile was unveiled at a
ceremony on Monday, under the auspices of Maqbool bin Ali Sultan,
minister of commerce and industry.
The brand identity is both unified and modern with technology
undertones. The first inspiration was the Cellular Telephony’s Basic
Structure, which works on the principle of hexagonal cells. The two
colours connote both technology and nature. Colour orange, in which
the letters are written, is the colour of the shade of sunrise –
symbolising the dawn of new technology – as well as the deserts and
mountains of the Sultanate.
It also depicts the colour of honey, seen as pure and full of
goodness. The `fluorescent green’ circles signify the essence of
life, of fertility and growth – aims of the organisation itself.
The hexagon encloses two letters in each of the words of the
typography – both English and Arabic – to depict cellular
communication. This high degree of bilingual compatibility shows up
as the orange hexagon in Arabic, forming the first alphabet `Meem’ of
the word written as mobile, while in English, the green inner circle
forms the second letter `o’ of the word mobile.
To further drive home the technology feel, a new techno-looking
typeface has been used. After the presentation of the logo and the
brand identity, there was a live acrobatic event presented by the
youngsters of the New-Age circus – reinforcing the four pillars that
will reflect Oman Mobile’s values – flexibility, connectivity,
coverage and customer care.

Armenian pressure group condemns president’s Council of Europe speech
A1+ web site
26 Jun 04

25 June: The Defence of the Liberated Territories public initiative
has sharply condemned President Robert Kocharyan’s speech at the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [PACE] today.
“Recently, the Armenian president personally spoke for the first time
from an international rostrum about Armenia’s disgraceful readiness to
cede the territories. Answering a question from the head of the
Azerbaijani delegation in PACE, he confessed that he had agreed to
cede the liberated territories in Key West. The territories have not
been ceded yet only because of Azerbaijan’s firm position.
“Some representatives of the opposition bypassed this issue and
hurried to approve of the Karabakh-related section of Kocharyan’s
speech.
“We sharply condemn every phrase which hints at the possible return of
the liberated territories to Azerbaijan, partly or in full. We state
that neither the president nor other figures who make such statements
have the right to speak on behalf of the people of Armenia and ignore
its opinion. The return of even an inch of our liberated territories,
as well as a speech containing statements which contribute to this,
are a betrayal.
“It becomes obvious that a positive solution to the Artsakh [Nagornyy
Karabakh] war requires a change of the political elite.
“All the liberated territories are an inseparable part of our
motherland and any attempts to thrust another solution upon the
Armenian people are doomed to failure,” the statement said.

Virgo’s Lie is hot but Egoyan’s Love is cooler
Screendaily
by Denis Seguin in Toronto
23 June 2004
Summer is always the busiest season for film production. In Canada, where
the summer is as short as it is hot, that makes it busier than most. In
terms of heat, the hottest production by far is Clement Virgo’s new film,
Lie With Me, which started shooting in Toronto on June 16.
Virgo co-wrote the screenplay with Tamara Faith Berger based on her
`brazenly pornographic’ novel. Mark Urman head of theatrical distribution
for THINKFilm, which picked up world rights for the project, is already
making comparisons with sensual sensations of the past. `Clement and
Tamara’s script explores human sexuality with a bravery and honesty not seen
on screen since Bertolucci’s Last Tango In Paris,’ says.
`We are thrilled to be in bed with such a provocative filmmaker and fully
expect Clement, Tamara and their terrific actors [Eric Balfour and Lauren
Lee Smith] to create the most honest, erotic and intimate film about sex
ever made in North America.’ No small feat.
Second perhaps in sensation but higher in prestige is the prospect of a new
film from auteur Atom Egoyan. The heat is on the auteur and in more ways
than one. His previous film, Ararat, a film that explored the historical
impact of genocide, was critically lauded and created its share of
controversy. But it didn’t perform at the box office. The new film, Somebody
Loves You, is a clear departure from weighty subject matter. But it also
offers an opportunity for Egoyan to break from the
`intellectuals-only-need-watch’ track his career has lead him. Based on the
widely-admired novel by Broadway wunderkind Rupert Holmes, the story follows
a young celebrity journalist as she tracks the secrets of a showbiz duo who
were driven apart by a bizarre death in which one of them may have played
the part of murderer. The deeper she digs the more she finds herself
involved with both men and perhaps risking more than she bargained. The
project offers some audience-friendly genre landmarks (1970s LA noir) with
Egoyanesque touchstones like identity confusion. It’s the third novel Egoyan
has adapted (the others were 1997’s The Sweet Hereafter and 1999’s Felicia’s
Journey) but is by far the least depressing. The film starts shooting at the
end of August under Egoyan’s long-time collaborator producer Robert Lantos,
who is a third source of heat. After the failure Norman Jewison’s The
Statement, Lantos’ Serendipity Point Films needs a hit.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OPPOSITION ADMITS ITS MISTAKES
ArmenPress
June 22 2004
YEREVAN, JUNE 22, ARMENPRESS: A senior member of the major opposition
Ardarutyun alliance admitted today that in an effort to force president
Kocharian into resignation through rallies and marches the opposition
made a chain of serious mistakes, which he said will not be repeated
in future.
Aram Sarkisian, the leader of the radical opposition Hanrapetutyun
(Republic) party has again claimed that the power in Armenia is going
to change soon. “We are going to continue the struggle for reinstating
constitutional order, for holding free and fair elections, for which
we have to be more organized,” he said.
Speaking at a roundtable on domestic political situation in Armenia,
Sarkisian said the the main goal was the departure of president
Kocharian.
On Monday Ardarutyun said it would most likely start a campaign of
signature collection for the removal of the president. According
to Viktor Dalakian, a senior member of the alliance, though the
undertaking would have a symbolic significance, as under the law even
a petition with millions of signatures in the support of opposition
calls does not provide for president’s resignation, it would expose
the volume of real popular distrust towards the authorities.

Iranian Prodigy Qaem-Maqami Humbles Vaganian
Mehr News Agency, Iran
June 21 2004
TEHRAN, June 21 (MNA) – Iranian grand master Ehsan Qaem-Maqami gave
top Armenian player Rafael Vaganian an unforgettable lesson at the
World Chess Federation (FIDE) Championships in Tripoli, capital of
Libya, Monday.
The Iranian phenom checkmated once world No. 3, Vaganian, who stood
top in Russia’s Aeroflot event in 2004.
Maqami found himself in the top 64 players’ list as he beat the
Armenian twice.
Playing with black pieces in his first challenge Sunday, he displayed
unexpected prowess against Vaganian in a queen’s Indian defense after
offering his opponent a draw, which was declined.
“The game was normal for first 18 moves. I offered my opponent draw
but he tried to win and did some bad moves,” said the Iranian genius
after the first match.
He managed to defeat Vaganian in their second fight on June 21.
Morteza Mahjub, Maqami’s teammate, who also emerged victorious in his
first fight and overcame Georgian grand master Zurab Azmaiparashvili,
was booted out of the tournament Monday when he lost the return and
semi-rapid matches.

PRESS OFFICE
ARMENIAN CHURCH OF NORTH AMERICA WESTERN DIOCESE
3325 North Glenoaks Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91504
Tel: (818) 558-7474
Fax: (818) 558-6333
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
COMMUNIQUÉ
PRIMATE PRESIDES OVER THE
12TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF
ST. MARY ARMENIAN CHURCH IN COSTA MESA
On Sunday, June 13, 2004 His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian,
Primate of the Armenian Church of North America Western Diocese,
celebrated Divine Liturgy and delivered the sermon at St. Mary Armenian
Apostolic Church in Costa Mesa, on the occasion of the twelfth
anniversary of the consecration of the church. The Divine Liturgy was
followed by a reception in the church hall.
The Primate addressed the faithful with the message, ÓThe twelfth
anniversary celebration of the consecration of St. Mary Armenian Church
is certainly a time for us to reflect upon our individual lives and the
life of the community, as to how much do we accomplish our duties in our
God-given lives. Therefore celebrations are special times for
thanksgiving and the renewal within us of the vocation and calling to
serve the Lord and the Church.
^ÓToday^Òs celebration reawakens in us the vision to make God ever-present
in our spiritual life. Today^Òs celebration calls on us to lead a
creative life, but above all to follow the messages of or Lord ^Å ^ÑGo,
therefore, and teach all the nations of the world^Ò. To teach means to
share; therefore through celebration we are reminded once again that
life is more meaningful if we share our God-given gifts^Ô.
We congratulate St. Mary Armenian Church on this joyous
occasion.
CELEBRATION IN HONOR OF MR. YERVANT BABAYAN
Sunday evening, June 13, 2004 a celebratory reception was held in honor
of the 90th birthday and 70th anniversary of the services of Mr. Yervant
Babayan, under the auspices of His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian,
Primate, and organized by a committee headed by Mashdots College. The
event was held at the Kalaydjian Hall of the Arshag and Eleanor
Dickranian Complex of the Western Diocese and was attended by several
Clergy of the Diocese.
Mr. Yervant Babayan has dedicated his life to the education of the
Armenian people and community. He is well known as the principal of two
schools, in Aleppo and Lebanon, as a writer, editor, and community
activist.
Hosted by Dr. Garbis Der Yeghiayan, the program of the evening included
recitations, music, as well as congratulatory remarks from the various
distinguished members of the community.
After a touching speech by Mr. Yervant Babayan, the clergy, headed by
His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, walked onto the stage, where
in his message His Eminence commended Mr. Babayan on his many years of
unrelenting service and dedication. Following, Very Rev. Fr. Asbed
Balian read the encyclical of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All
Armenians. The program closed with a prayer by the clergy.
We congratulate Mr. Yervant Babayan for an impressive career that spans
a period of seventy years. We wish him and his family health and
prosperity for many years to come.
DIVAN OF THE DIOCESE
June 14, 2004
Burbank, CA

World Team wins Petrosian Memorial by a point
Chessbase News, Germany
June 16 2004
16.06.2004 A heroic comeback by the Petrosian team in the final two
rounds fell a point short. Anand-Kasparov was one of several short
draws in the final round. Vaganian had the only win of the round, an
impressive bind against Adams. Gelfand, once Petrosian’s star pupil,
battled hard for the full point against Bacrot to no avail. Report
and games.
Team Petrosian comeback falls just short
Round 6 (June 15, 2004)
Petrosian Team 3-3 World Team
Kasparov (3.5/6) ½-½ Anand (3.5/6)
Leko (4) ½-½ Vallejo (3)
Gelfand (2) ½-½ Bacrot (3.5)
Akopian (2.5) ½-½ Svidler (4)
Vaganian (3.5) 1-0 Adams (3)
Lputian (2) ½-½ van Wely (1.5)
Final overall score:
World Team: 18.5 – 17.5 Petrosian Team
It was a valiant effort, but the Petrosian team fell short by the
thinnest possible margin at the end. After looking overmatched in the
first half, the ‘friends of Armenia’ squad didn’t lose a game in the
final two rounds and almost climbed back from a four-point deficit.
It was a great match, and it was fitting that the Petrosian Memorial
was a team event. Tigran Petrosian consistently put up phenomenal
scores in team events throughout his career. An incredible six times
he got the best score in the Olympiads playing for the USSR over a
20-year span.
After five draws Rafael Vaganian bared his teeth and squashed Mickey
Adams in what must have been one of the ugliest losses in the
Englishman’s career. It will also provide a lift for club players
everywhere who adore the Stonewall variation of the Colle, a rare
bird at the GM level. Vaganian got a knight on d6 that will keep
Adams up nights and then squeezed before finally administering the
coup de grace with a pawn breakthrough.
It was a good reminder that Vaganian was considered one of the
toughest players in the world for several decades and he admirably
carried the mantle of Armenian chess after Petrosian. He was playing
in the Soviet championship before Adams was born!
With Anand coming off of a loss and with his team leading by two
points we didn’t really expect a battle royal against Kasparov. The
world number one strayed from his usual Najdorf to play Kramnik’s
(and everyone else’s) favorite, the Sveshnikov. It isn’t the first
time Kasparov has ventured it, and there was no question about
preparation since the players followed the most popular line all the
way to move 20. Anand had reached this position before, last year
against Kramnik, and here tried to change the move order up, but
didn’t get anywhere. The draw was agreed on move 26.
Akopian-Svidler and Vallejo-Leko were short draws. Lputian and van
Wely sparred more seriously. The Armenian played a nice petite
combination (that’s English for petit combinaison) and got a pleasant
position with black, but allowed a repetition check. Then it was up
to Petrosian’s star pupil, Boris Gelfand. He tried his best to grind
out a win against Bacrot but the Frenchman defended well to split the
point and preserve his team’s one-point victory.
There’s no “I” in “team”, so you can’t place blame on anyone or give
particular credit, but we will anyway because we get paid by the word
around here. Standout performances by Bacrot and Vaganian cancelled
out on the scoreboard. Both team leaders were outscored by the second
boards. If you have to look for a difference-maker you find Gelfand’s
-2 performance. He played 132 points below his 2714 rating and didn’t
score a win.
Vaganian – Adams after 36…g5
This knightmare of a game came to a merciful end when Vaganian
finally played 37.d5! If Black captures with the e-pawn Nf5+ wins the
house with a triple attack. Instead Adams played 37…Bxd5 38.Nxb5
and resigned.
van Wely – Lputian after 23.Qc3
Lputian finds a clever way to keep a knight off of b5 and to activate
his rooks. 23…Bxa4 24.Nxa4 Rea8 25.Nxc4 desperado 25…Rxa4 26.Nb2
Ra2 and they played a repetition a few moves later.

PRESS RELEASE
June 14, 2004
American University of Armenia Corporation
300 Lakeside Drive, 4th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Telephone: (510) 987-9452
Fax: (510) 208-3576
Contact: Gohar Momjian
E-mail: [email protected]
Preventing Blindness: A Top Priority at the Garo Meghrigian Eye Institute
Preventing blindness in Armenia – this is the bold and ambitious mission of
the Garo Meghrigian Eye Institute for Preventive Ophthalmology (GMEIPO).
The institute is located in Yerevan at the AUA Business and Conference
Center, and was established in 1999 within the AUA Center for Health
Services Research and Development of the College of Health Sciences.
“In our experience, screening over 6,000 children in Armenia’s summer camps
and other vulnerable populations in the regions, we have found that a large
majority of eye diseases and problems could be avoided with proper
education, affordable access to regular eye examinations, and treatment,”
said Naira Khachatryan, ophthalmologist, AUA graduate, and GMEIPO Program
Manager, who is also completing her Doctorate in Public Health at the London
School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “Preventable blindness is such a
tragedy, and playing a small part in preventing a single case or in
restoring proper vision is immensely gratifying.”
Mr. and Mrs. Garo and Gloria Meghrigian generously contributed $500,000 to
establish the Eye Institute in memory of their daughter, Christine Hripsime
Meghrigian (Dec. 10, 1953-Feb 26, 1991). Mr. Meghrigian was experiencing a
gradual loss of his eyesight, and he felt that adults as well as children
may be facing similar situations in Armenia. It was his vision to help other
Armenians not suffer the same fate by providing ongoing screenings in
Armenia; educating eye care providers and the general public on scientific
advances in detecting, preventing, and treating eye diseases; and more
importantly, translating these advances into nationwide clinical practices.
Mr. Meghrigian has passed away, but his wife Gloria and other family members
have a keen interest in the ongoing work of the Institute to prevent
blindness.
Continuing AUA’s track record of building relationships and partnerships
with international and local agencies, most recently, the GMEIPO in
partnership with Armenia’s Ministry of Health and the Ararat Lions Club, was
awarded the Lions Club International Foundation SightFirst grant to improve
eye care in Gegharkunik Marz. “This collaborative project is comprehensive
and system-oriented. It establishes a regional ophthalmic unit in Sevan to
provide eye care on the district level, strengthening local infrastructure,
and providing services in the Marz currently only available in Yerevan,”
said Michael Thompson, Director of AUA’s Center for Health Services Research
and Development. “GMEIPO’s plan is to develop a mode of organizing,
financing, and delivering regional ophthalmic services for Armenia that
could be replicated as a national model of quality and affordable medical
services. Unlike other humanitarian efforts that simply provide care,
GMEIPO focuses on developing infrastructure, local expertise, and
sustainable systems.”
GMEIPO will be taking the lead to build a regional ophthalmic unit according
to Armenia’s Ministry of Health standards and equipped per the World Health
Organization standard list. Human resources will be developed, and training
will consist of international experiences, local academic training, and
local practical training covering both treatment and management skills.
Together, GMEIPO and the Ministry of Health will establish village
examination centers, and will complete mass screenings of approximately
20,000 people who are over the age of 50 in the Gegharkunik Marz. All
prevalent cases of bilateral blinding cataract, estimated at 1,000-1,500, in
the Marz, will be identified and treated during a one and a half year
period.
“AUA is proud of the Garo Meghrigian Eye Institute and its outstanding
achievements. All of the AUA academic programs operate research and
development centers rooted in their academic fields that strive to impact
the community, to help improve the lives of individuals, and also to serve
as examples and catalysts for systemic change,” said AUA President,
Haroutune Armenian.
—————————————-
The American University of Armenia is registered as a non-profit educational
organization in both Armenia and the United States and is affiliated with
the Regents of the University of California. Receiving major support from
the AGBU, AUA offers instruction leading to the Masters Degree in eight
graduate programs. For more information about AUA, visit
Pictures: GMEIPO actively participated in the Boarding School Visual
Impairment Project – 2002, supported by UNICEF/Armenia and the Jinishian
Memorial Fund.

Armenia to dispose Soviet liquid missile fuel
By Tigran Liloyan
ITAR-TASS News Agency
June 13, 2004 Sunday
YEREVAN, June 13 — Armenia will dispose liquid missile fuel, which is
left on the national territory from the Soviet period. A memorandum
to the effect has been signed between Armenian Defense Minister and
Secretary of the National Security Council Serzh Sarkisyan and head
of the OSCE mission in Yerevan Vladimir Pryakhin.
Further storing of the liquid missile fuel is dangerous, because the
fuel containers have decayed. The OSCE is ready to assign experts
for helping the Armenian project.

New Lessons: Armenia prepares for significant changes in secondary education
By Gayane Abrahamyan, ArmeniaNow reporter
ArmeniaNow.com
June 11,2004
A Project on Education Quality and Compliance has been in public
discussion for several months and proposes fundamental changes in
Armenia’s schools of general education.
According to the new state education system, beginning 2006 secondary
education in the republic will be 12 years and children will be
admitted at the age of six. (Presently, the system is 10 years,
with students entering at age six.)
Ten years will become 12 for general education students..
The new education system was developed by a working group selected
through competition, 40 percent of which were teachers, the
others were professors at universities, members of the center for
educational reforms at the Ministry of Education and Science and also
representatives of non-governmental organizations.
According to this educational system secondary general education will
be carried out through a three-level system: 4 years elementary school
(1st to 4th grades); 5 years secondary school (5th to 9th grades);
and 3 years senior school (10th to 12th grades).
The complete program of reforms also includes a methodical re-training
of 40,000 teachers, publishing of new textbooks, providing computers
and introduction of a new evaluation system.
According to the Minister of Education and Science Sergo Yeritsyan in
the aspect of educational reforms Armenia is not only behind European
but also CIS countries. It has been several years that Russia, Belarus
or other CIS countries have passed on to a 12-year education plan.
“We haven’t had a defined educational strategy after independence,”
Yeritsyan says. “Different tests have been done, a project has been
developed proceeding from the present moment, while this new project
is complete. It involves pre-school education up to post graduate
education.”
The Minister points out that one of the main advantages of this
project is that the new educational system will give an opportunity to
combine final school exams with entry exams at institutes of higher
learning. It will also allow for a lighter load of subjects and at
the same time it will add 20 percent of new subjects.
According to the director of Educational Project center Karine
Harutyunyan, the project will be implement by a $45 million credit
allotment from World Bank.
NIE director Melikyan is in favor of the changes..
The new educational system became subject to active discussions among
society. For instance, the dean of the journalism faculty at Yerevan
State University, Garnik Ananyan, believes the new educational policy
will lead to a weakening of the education system.
And Anahit Simonyan, a teacher for 30 years, says a four-year
elementary system isn’t needed, as three years are more than enough
for the material provided to cover that level.
Gagik Melikyan, deputy director of National Institute for Education,
says objections to the new educational system initially was the lack
of awareness and wrong opinions. Included in the misunderstanding was a
wide-spread belief that Armenian children would start school at age 5.
“All those conversations that in case of passing on to a new
educational system children will go to school at the age of five,
are not true. Moreover, nothing is said about it in the project,”
points out Melikyan.
He clarifies that the issue of 5 year-old children was touched since
there was some discussion of organizing a pre-school education program,
aimed to bring those children who are not attending kindergartens to
the necessary level.
“Not everyone can afford to take their children to kindergartens,
and as a result the child comes to school unprepared,” says Melikyan.
According to information of the National Statistics Service
today in Armenia only 18 percent of 5-6 year-old children go to
kindergartens. To fill in this gap the new educational system provides
state assistance thanks to which the last kindergarten year will be
free of charge.
“It does not mean that kindergartens will lose their main
activity which is to prepare children for school, like many people
think. Simply, if now that process is carried out by communities then
in case of passing to the new educational system it will be carried
out through the means and with the control of Ministry of Education
and Science,” adds Melikyan.
A lot of attention in the project is paid to teachers’ training,
re-training and re-qualification, as well as to the issue of computer
usage. According to Melikyan there already is a group consisting of 40
teachers who have been re-qualified abroad and who will be teaching
at the branches of the Institute for Re-Training that exist in all
the regions of the republic.
There also is a center for knowledge evaluation and testing, which
will be carrying out both current and final school exams, which will
at the same time be entry exams. According to Yeritsyan, the new
evaluation method will give an opportunity to prevent corruption.
To clarify society’s opinion the Armenian Sociology Association
recently sponsored an opinion poll.
Six hundred teachers, principles, high grade pupils and parents and
160 experts from 100 schools randomly chosen from five regions of
Armenia participated in the poll.
Sixty five percent were dissatisfied with what they knew about the
proposed system. Forty-seven percent believe the reform is aimed
at improving the quality of education. Twenty percent answered that
the reform is for monetary gain of the specialists and six percent
believe it is to improve personnel.
Twelve percent think that reforms will lead to deterioration of the
educational system. Nine percent think the number of unemployed
teachers will increase as a result of reforms. According to 4.5
percent the number of schools will be cut.
The topic on which there was overwhelming agreement was teacher salary:
Almost 92 percent of those who took part in the poll complained of
the amount of salary paid to teachers and they pointed out that it
is not enough to take care of their family needs. One third of them
have no choice but doing something else in addition to their main job.