CHILDREN DEPRIVED OF KINDERGARTENS IN VILLAGES

Fifty communities in Lory region, sixty-three in Aragatsotn, fourteen in Armavir and several other communities have no kindergartens. This data was released by Hasmik Mitoyan, head of pre-school department at the ministry of education and science. In her words, the number of kindergartens radically declined after the collapse of the Soviet Union saying 800 kindergartens are left out of 1200. She also said thirty private pre-school establishments have been established and several were built in the disaster zone.

Mitoyan connected the declining number of kindergartens and their poor conditions with the fact that they were transferred to local self-government bodies in 1996 when there were no respective legal regulations and the community heads managed them as they wanted. She said now legal norms are developed and adopted regulating also the liquidation of such establishments. The education ministry official said experimental programs are conducted with international organization to develop kindergartens and enroll more children in them.

In Mitoryan’s words, fifty percent of first grade schoolchildren have attended kindergartens. She said it is a high indicator which is due to dwellers of the capital.