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Located in Asia Minor, Armenia borders Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan (including the disputed Nagorno Karabagh region) to the east and southwest, and Iran to the south. While the historic Armenian kingdom once extended into northeast Turkey and northwest Iran, from the Caspian to the Mediterranean seas, Armenia is the smallest of the 15 former Soviet Socialist republics, at o…
Even amidst difficult economic times, the value of education continues to be held in high regard in Armenia. The present educational system has its roots in the brief period of independence during the formation of the first Republic of Armenia (1918-1920), and was solidified in the ensuing Soviet era of governance (1920-1990). The significant role of education in the nation's set of priori…
Armenia's public educational system is manifested in four levels of schooling: preprimary (ages three to six), primary (grades one to three), intermediate (grades four to eight) and senior (grades nine to ten). The latter three levels are often grouped in the category of general education. Public schooling is free and compulsory until the age of sixteen, essentially through the senior level…
Primary education became compulsory in 1932, helping dramatically to reduce illiteracy rates in the nation to nearly nonexistent. The Soviet system created and funded the preschool network in order to accommodate working mothers, who received 1.5 years of maternity leave before they had to return to the workforce. Parents' main contributions went towards clothing and shoes, as the cost of f…
Article 18 of the Law on Education expands upon the goals outlined for preschool education, noting that general education in Armenia seeks to develop children's knowledge of nature and the self, understanding of values and politics, and military preparation. More specifically, the focus of elementary school (grades one to three) is on the cultivation of language, mathematics, and work skill…
Higher education is widespread throughout Armenia, with the nation ranking first in educational attainment in the 1989 general census of the former Soviet Union. Adult literacy rates in Armenia remain exceptionally high, with UNICEF figures showing as many as 100 percent of the male population and 99 percent of the female population over the age of fifteen possessing the ability to read and write.…
The 1996 decentralization of school and community governance brought additional economic challenges as well as influence by special interest groups. Initially, regional government offices managed all educational activities and appointments, and were given discretionary funds by the central treasury. All of this fell under the supervision of the Ministry of Education and Science. A revised decree i…
As with nearly every other aspect of the educational system in Armenia, the teaching profession has undergone dramatic changes since the fall of the Soviet Union. While teachers continue to be respected as professionals, and 80 percent hold degrees from institutions of higher education or professional pedagogical institutes, the post-Soviet corps tends to be less motivated, undergo fewer hours of …
Since Armenia acquired independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, funding for education declined drastically as costs rose. The nation decentralized school and community governance in 1997 and shifted control of spending and appointments to local councils to attempt to address financial needs of families. But annual preprimary tuition for a single student now can cost as much as the annual salary…
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