Armenia-EU: new perspectives for educational cooperation
2018-07-17
Arayik Harutyunyan, RA Minister of Education and Science, received Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Świtalski. The Minister of Education and Science thanked the Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia for supporting the sphere of education in Armenia. According to Arayik Harutyunyan, in Armenia, the educational system, regarding structure, can be compared to that of the European educational space, but there are still serious challenges in improving the quality of education. Presenting the upcoming reforms in this sphere, the Minister of Education and Science mentioned that now EU assistance is needed, particularly in the fields of the innovation of the National Institute of Education, general education programs, process of the creation of textbooks, management of schools with new pupils, as well as in the middle professional and higher educational spheres.
Arayik Harutyunyan emphasized that general education would be the key of reforms, as a result of which alumni are expected to be independent, free, critical and analytical. For this very stage, he highlighted the problem of effective management of schools with few pupils in rural communities. To manage this a new model of educational and cultural centers is being developed, which will enable the rural communities to simultaneously integrate the functions of the pre-school, school and cultural center.
EU Ambassador Świtalski, emphasizing the importance of support in the sphere of education in the context of further Armenia-EU cooperation, highlighted that the Ministry of Education is expected to present specific programs. The EU Ambassador expressed his content referring the increase of the efficiency of the education management system and the steps of the new government in the fight against corruption.
During the meeting the parties also discussed the apolitization of educational institutions, increasing the effectiveness of public funds allocated to the education system, the field of science, in particular, the "Horizon 2020" program and other issues related to the expansion of the TUMO creative technology center.
