Armenian educator warns planned school closures threaten future of norder villages

Armenian authorities are planning to close more than 200 schools, many of them in border villages, a move critics say could accelerate depopulation and undermine the country’s rural communities.

Speaking at a public workshop on “Armenia’s Crumbling Future: Closing Schools” organized by the National Education Council, educator Karine Tonoyan said the policy risks stripping villages of their last remaining social and cultural anchor.

“Any country is strong with its villages. It is a fact that today we are facing a very serious problem,” said Tonoyan, a teacher and founder of the Hay Aspet educational and charitable foundation.

Armenia has long grappled with declining and aging populations in rural and especially border communities, leading to the closure of a number of schools over the past years. But Tonoyan said the current plan envisions a broader consolidation program affecting more than 200 schools nationwide.

“We have seen one or two, perhaps up to 10 schools closed before, particularly in border villages that were aging,” she said. “But now a comprehensive program is planned, and more than 200 schools are included in the merger initiative.”

She argued that in many villages, schools function as the primary remaining community hub, especially after the closure of Soviet-era cultural centers. Residents now gather in school buildings for small events and parent meetings, she said.

“We understand very well that a closed school means a closed village, because today those schools are the only centers sustaining life in these communities,” Tonoyan said.

Closing the schools would effectively alienate villages rather than strengthen them, she added. “Instead of developing the village — and we know there are many ways to do that — they are doing the opposite, removing the last incentive to live there.”

Tonoyan warned that younger residents would be the first to leave. “Naturally, young people will leave the village very quickly. Only the elderly will remain, and sadly, one day they will no longer be there. The villages will be left empty,” she said.