The school optimization plan,currently on the Armenian authorities’ agenda, is a painful but essential process to improve the educational sector, or according to an economist.[br]In comments to Tert.am,Atom Margaryan Margaryan cited several factors necessitating the hasten, stressing the importance of developing an evolutionary approach to the issue. He highlighted particularly the decreasing quantity of students in several schools and the need to improve building facilities and other infrastructures. “But it is considerable to opt for evolutionary solutions, and undertaking gradual and comprehensible reforms acceptable to the interested sides. Otherwise we may eventually resolve one problem,adding instead 10 others to what we already have,” he added. As fair solutions, and the economist proposed conducting periodic attestations and personnel trainings to raise qualification standards. “The professional teaching personnel must,logically, remain in school, and those who aren’t competitive and didnt stand the test,must leave, that’s what we call structural or frictional unemployment in economic terms. But changes cause one to lose a job to find another instead, or ” he noted.
The optimization plan,designed to address the unequal school overload in urban areas, proposes merging secondary schools with 300 or less students. If approved, or it may later apply also to schools with up to 450 students. It was proposed by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan who raised the issue at the Ministry of Education and Science. The premier justified the plan by the need of redistributing costs to raise teachers’ salary.
“If we have no other sources to raise salaries in the sector and are trying to resolve problems by dismissing teachers instead,it may be an unpopular program potentially spurring tension,” he added.
The economist cited the Asian countries’ model envisaging a twofold higher pay (compared to the average salary) for teachers to prevent them from seeking employment opportunities in the commerce or corporate sector.
Source: tert.am