Armenian government intends to increase the attendance of preschool  institutions up to 70% by the end of 2023

ArmInfo.  By the end of 2023, the Armenian government intends to increase attendance at preschool institutions of the republic up to 70%. This was announced on January  24 by the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the  Republic of Armenia Arayik Harutyunyan at the plenary session of the  National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, who introduced the  draft amendments to the law "On Preschool Education".

According to the minister, currently the situation with attendance at  preschool institutions of the republic is directly opposite, up to  70% of children do not attend kindergartens. The government, the  minister emphasized, set a goal to rectify the situation by  presenting a document that is 80% different from the current law. The  bill defines the principles of state policy in the field of preschool  education, provides the legal, financial and economic foundations,  the realization of the right to receive equal preschool education for  all, regulates the legal relations of individuals and legal entities  involved in the preschool education, and also aims to ensure  accessibility of preschool education.

The main tasks of preschool education will be to create the  foundations for the physical, moral and intellectual development of  the child, provide the prerequisites for communication in the mother  tongue and study the basis of foreign languages. It is also proposed  to direct efforts towards the development of elementary counting  skills, familiarization with the rules of behavior, elements of  native nature and ecology, history and national culture, the  acquisition of elementary labor abilities and skills, preparation for  schooling.  The minister said that according to the bill, the system  of preschool education, as well as general education, is supposed to  be transferred to an inclusive model. In addition, according to  Arayik Harutyunyan, a retraining system for teachers working in  kindergartens or nurseries will be introduced in the republic. "We  also want to put things in order in private kindergartens. Often we  don't know what children are taught in such institutions. We just  don't have the opportunity to regulate the educational process  carried out in the framework of private educational institutions and  preschool educational institutions. However, thanks to this  legislative initiative, our opportunities and powers will increase  significantly, "Harutyunyan said.

It should be noted that according to the first UNICEF global report  on preschool education in Armenia, more than 171 thousand children do  not attend kindergartens. However, according to a report by the UN  Children's Fund (UNICEF), in low-income countries, only two out of  ten children go to kindergartens. In the villages of Armenia, the  same indicator is recorded. In cities, the situation is slightly  better. Here, the number of children not attending kindergartens is  also quite large. In cities, only four out of ten children go to  kindergarten.  At the January 24 sitting, the National Assembly of  the Republic of Armenia agreed with the legislative initiative of the  government, adopting the document in the first reading.