Training
In Armenia, children start school at the age
of six. The compulsory school is formally compulsory and
free of charge for ten years. The low stage covers three years. Subsequently, there
is a middle school of five years and a secondary school
of two years. For higher education, there are around twenty
universities and colleges, including four overseas, and
a number of private colleges.
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COUNTRYAAH:
Country facts of Armenia, including geography profile, population statistics, and business data.
Until the 1990s, Armenia had a Soviet education
system with a strong emphasis on ideological education.
Following the liberation from the Soviet Union in 1991,
Armenian history and culture have gained a prominent
place in teaching. At the same time, however, schools at
all levels have been affected by reduced funding, with a
shortage of school books and low teacher salaries. Many
schools are closed during the winter to keep fuel costs
down. The widespread poverty means that many children
drop out of school early because parents cannot afford
to provide them with the equipment they need.
Here, involvement of Armenians in exile comes in
handy. An internationally funded initiative that has
attracted attention is Tumo, a center that offers
programming in programming after regular school hours
for students aged 12-18. In 2019, the system, which is
continuing to be expanded, had approximately 7,000
enrolled students who, among other things, learned to
digitize medieval texts.
 FACTS - EDUCATION
Proportion of children starting primary
school
92.0 percent (2017)
Number of pupils per teacher in primary
school
19 (2007)
Reading and writing skills
99.7 percent (2011)
Public expenditure on education as a
percentage of GDP
10.2 percent (2016)
Public expenditure on education as a
percentage of the state budget
10.2 percent (2016)
2020
June
Opposition leader criminal accused
June 16
The leader of the opposition party A successful
Armenia (BHK), businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, is suspected
of, among other things, tax cheating and voting. The
accusations of voting arose according to the national
security service at the 2017 parliamentary elections. As
the owner of the Shangri La casino, Tsarukyan should
have run gambling business without a permit. He is also
a criminal offender in a third case involving a real
estate deal in his home municipality. Tsarukyan himself,
who risks losing the freedom of prosecution he enjoys as
a parliamentarian himself, claims that the charges are
politically conditional.
Pashinyan is remodeling among security managers
June 8
Prime Minister Pashinyan, who is also the commander
of Armenia, appoints three new security chiefs: Onik
Gasparyan becomes chief of staff in the armed forces,
Argishti Kyaramyan becomes head of the national security
service and Vahe Ghazaryan becomes national police
chief. All three are succeeding persons appointed by
Pashinyan since he came to power but served a short
time. A former head of security services, Artur
Vanetsyan, who left his post in the fall of 2019, has
started a new party and demanded Pashinyan's departure.
The new appointments, which Pashinyan announces via
social media, must also be signed by the president.
The prime minister has covid-19
June 1st
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has been tested for
covid-19 and proven to carry the corona virus, he
announces himself. His family also carries the
infection. Pashinyan states that he has no symptoms, but
he stays at home. The Armenian authorities have
confirmed nearly 9,300 cases the day before, of which
131 have died. Pashinyan frequently reproduces images on
social media of people who defy pandemic restrictions
and on June 3, Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan
announces that it will be mandatory to wear face mask in
public place.
May
The property tax is quadrupled
May 27th
A new system for property taxation is being pushed by
the government. The system should be gradually
introduced over the course of three years. According to
the Minister of Finance, who explains that the valuation
values should be increased so that they approach
market values, the amounts that the property tax
generates can be more than quadrupled compared to the
current situation. The increase should make it easier to
raise the level of municipal service, it says.
Different reporting for the deceased with corona
May 27th
Nearly 100 deaths have been confirmed in the covid-19
viral disease. In addition, nearly 50 deaths have
occurred, where patients have had coronary infection
confirmed but have died from other diseases, the
Armenian Disease Protection Agency reports, while new
infection cases continue to be registered. On the same
day, it is reported that the government has decided on
its nineteenth formal measure to curb the pandemic's
effects, this time a one-man support measure.
Failure to release convicted killer
May 26
The European Court of Justice (European Court of
Human Rights) decides on a case involving the murder of
an Armenian officer in 2004. According to the court,
Azerbaijan violated the Council of Europe Convention on
Human Rights when the murderer was released (see
August 2012). Armenian Gurgen Margaryan was
murdered in 2004 when he was on a NATO led course in
Hungary by a course participant from Azerbaijan, Ramil
Safarov. There must have been disagreement between the
men who lived in the home countries' conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh. In Hungary, Safarov was sentenced to
life imprisonment in 2006, but he was eventually given a
clearance to serve the sentence in his home country.
Once transferred to Baku, Safarov was immediately
pardoned and elevated to hero. Hungary avoids criticism
of the ruling, which can however be appealed.
April
Corona crisis gives gloomier budget
April 23
Parliament adopts a revised state budget for 2020
with gloomy prospects as a result of the global corona
crisis; An expected growth of 4.9 percent in the
economy has been replaced by a budget deficit of 2 per
cent. One of the effects Armenia is aware of is the
reduced money transfers from Armenians who have worked
abroad.
New law gives the state the right to confiscate
April 16
Parliament adopts a contentious law that allows the
state to confiscate property that is deemed to have been
acquired illegally; The law gives the Armenian
Prosecutor's Office the right to investigate whether a
buyer has sufficient legal income to acquire certain
property.
Pandemic support from the EU and the IMF
April 15
The EU will contribute € 92 million to Armenia to
counter the spread of coronavirus, the Armenian
government said. In connection with the review of the
reforms being implemented in the country, the Armenians
have also requested an increase in support from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), and there is an
agreement at the official level. The $ 280 million
action will be taken against the pandemic as soon as the
IMF's leadership gives the go-ahead, according to a
communiqué from the IMF. So far, 17 deaths have been
confirmed in Armenia.
Double elections in disputed territory
April 14
In the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh (for
Armenians known as the Republic of Artsakh), the second
round is run by a presidential election, which is won by
Arayik Harutyunyan. On 31 March, a regional parliament
was also elected. The mountainous area that Armenia
claims has Armenian population but is completely
enclosed by Azerbaijan.
March
EU support against the corona crisis
March 30
As part of the EU's response to the global corona
crisis, a support package is promised to the six
so-called Eastern Partnership countries Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova. The
support includes a total of EUR 140 million for
immediate healthcare needs, and in addition EUR 700
million is redistributed so that the money can be used
to counter severe societal effects of the crisis. The
planned activities are in cooperation with the World
Health Organization (WHO).
Pandemic demands life in Armenia
March 26
Armenia's first death in the viral disease covid-19
is confirmed in Gjumri. The patient, a 72-year-old
woman, has been judged by Armenian media to have had
underlying disease and suffered from severe pneumonia.
About 300 disease cases have been confirmed in Armenia.
Exception state against coronavirus
March 16
An emergency permit is introduced so that authorities
can counter the spread of the new coronavirus that can
cause life-threatening conditions, especially in older
people. Beginning on March 24, freedom of movement for
the population will be limited.
February
President Sargysan is on trial
February 25th
The trial of President Serzh Sargsyan begins formally
when he appears before a court in the capital. Sargsyan
is charged with financial crime (see December 4,
2019). According to Sargsyan's lawyer, the
prosecution is fabricated to keep him out of politics.
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