Civil initiative demands to set special commission
"We are against Re-Opening of Foreign-Language Schools" civil initiative has issued a statement demanding the Armenian government to set up a special commission to raise competitiveness of national education.
The statement came after the coalition announced during the public hearings in the National Assembly on September 27 its intention to cancel the draft amendments to the RA Law on Language and to regulate the opening of foreign-language schools by the RA Law on General Education.
"The unprecedented public protest in Armenia and in the Diaspora during the past five months was not against a definite draft law, but against the opening of foreign-language schools. Under Article 2 of the RA Law on Language, education must be realized in the country in the Armenian language. The only exception can be national minorities and non-educational establishments," reads an Initiative statement.
"Now that the government says the Law on Language need not be amended, it is required that the government point out the legal grounds for canceling these amendments. Similarly, they must annul the draft amendments to the RA Law on General Education, which envisage that foreign-language programs can be realized in non-state educational establishments."
The initiative calls on everybody (including political parties and businesspeople) concerned with the quality of higher education to take efforts to localize international educational programs (firstly, international baccalaureate) and to provide training for teachers and professors.
"Before that, we should give up the idea of opening foreign-language schools in Armenia and set up a special commission to raise competitiveness of national education. We are ready to invest our potential (knowledge, organizational skills) to the cause," reads the statement.
