RA Minister of Education and Science Answers AUA Students’ Questions on Educational Reforms in Armenia
2 min readYEREVAN, Armenia – On May 2, 2019, the American University of Armenia (AUA) hosted Dr. Arayik Harutyunyan, Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Armenia (RA) and ex-officio board member of the AUA Fund, for a discussion on educational reforms in Armenia.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Harutyunyan briefly presented the achievements of the Ministry in the previous year, the challenges they have faced, and the planned future educational reforms in the country. He stated that Armenia is now facing the challenge of making high-quality education accessible for all, especially referring to higher education. “We can pride ourselves in having depoliticized the schools and higher educational institutions, at least to some extent,” commented Dr. Harutyunyan on the Ministry’s efforts to make the educational system more accessible, fair and transparent.
The Minister mentioned that the school curriculum is currently undergoing certain changes, which aim at making schools more engaging and interesting for students. To this end, the school curriculum will be transformed and major modifications will be made to coursebooks and other teaching materials by 2023.
“We should bring innovation to schools in order to raise students’ interest. Unfortunately, the current educational system is still akin to the 20th century, while students are in the 21st century. Despite the archaic system, there are teachers who are trying to integrate information technologies into their teaching, particularly through mobile phones,” noted Dr. Harutyunyan, adding that in August 2019 the Ministry will have the first draft of the new augmented reality coursebook in physics for 7th graders.
Other questions to the Minister related to primary and secondary education, science and its correlation with education, internationalization of high schools, teacher development programs, labor unions within the educational system, and cooperation with the Diaspora.
Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.
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