Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Araksya Svajyan stated that each year around 10 percent of children eligible for first grade, or about 3,000 kids, did not attend. She made the comments during parliamentary hearings on legislative drafts and state policy concerning child rights protection.
In response to MP Hayk Harutyunyan’s question about why the Ministry decided that children should enroll in the grade matching their age at first school entry, especially as many children used to start school at age seven in second grade, Svajyan said the new regulation has already reversed that trend.
Recalling that parents whose children are not sent to school at age six face an administrative fine of AMD 30,000, Harutyunyan pointed out that the Ministry has not provided statistics on how many parents have been fined.
Svajyan responded by saying that the guardianship and trusteeship body is responsible for protecting children’s educational rights, and thus the Ministry does not have data on the number of fined parents.
“Taking into account best interest of the child and right to education, a decision has been made that every child should go to the class corresponding to their age at school entry,” said the Deputy Minister, adding that the change was based on research and expert conclusions.
“Even though we’ve informed about the fines, there have been parents who did not take the recommendations seriously,” she said.
She assured that this year’s data show many children, unlike in previous years, did not miss out on the education program and attended first grade on time.
The Deputy Minister also said that a decision has been made to allow children with intellectual difficulties to start first grade at age seven, and such children are now enrolling in first grade.
