Clarifications Provided by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs Regarding the Situation Surrounding Yerevan’s No. 92 Kindergarten

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia has deemed it necessary to provide clarifications regarding the situation surrounding Yerevan’s No. 92 kindergarten, which is a community non-commercial organization, in light of undue speculations addressed to the ministry. This was reported by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

Firstly, the Ministry’s fundamental stance is that all kindergartens should be inclusive, and the right to early childhood education for children with disabilities must be realized not in a special institution or group format, but rather as a general method of preschool education organization.

Considering that preschool institutions are predominantly community-owned non-commercial organizations, it is primarily the community's responsibility to ensure the accessibility and affordability of preschool education for all children. It should be noted that communities are endowed with the necessary powers and tools for this purpose, such as relevant funding from community budgets, subsidized programs, etc.

Regarding the funding of special groups of Yerevan’s No. 92 kindergarten, it is reported that during 2019, this was conducted through a grant competition organized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, where this organization was selected to provide those services for a fixed term. Specifically, a grant agreement was signed with the organization, stipulating the end date of its operation as December 31, 2019, and the Ministry fulfilled its contractual obligations until the term expired.

We also consider it important to address several issues that arose during the contract's duration. For instance, according to the performance reports submitted by the organization, despite the program being planned for 23 children, an average of only 15 children received the corresponding service monthly. Since the beginning of 2019, the Ministry has made both written and oral requests to the organization seeking clarifications regarding the underperformance, but no valid explanations were provided. Moreover, there have been various complaints regarding the quality of services rendered at the kindergarten (numerous reports have appeared in mass media as well).

The Ministry has also expressed its principled disagreement with the form of organizing inclusive education, considering the applied approach regarding pre-inclusiveness to be problematic. The city municipality and the organization were informed in writing by the Ministry about these issues during the first half of 2019. Throughout the year, ministry staff held several meetings with the organization’s employees and parents, verbally elucidating the Ministry's position.

Additionally, it was repeatedly announced in 2019 that the provision of services financed from the state budget by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs would be conducted exclusively through competitive procedures in cooperation with various organizations and communities.

During the formulation of the 2020 budget application, the Ministry adopted the process of expanding inclusive daytime services for children throughout the republic. In this framework, adhering to this principle, the Ministry organized and carried out over 138 grant competitions by the end of 2019 for the purpose of providing services to children in Yerevan and all regional areas of Armenia, including services for children and individuals with disabilities. It is worth noting that the services directed towards children will also operate in communities where they had not previously existed. The competitions were open to all certified organizations; however, the aforementioned organization did not submit any applications for participation in any of them.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs reaffirms its adherence to the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and emphasizes the importance of the right of all children with disabilities to live and be included in the community without isolation (exclusion).

It is also important to note that preschool institutions do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and the Ministry has no functions related to the organization of preschool education for the implementation of its statutory goals and objectives.

It should be reminded that member of Parliament from the Prosperous Armenia faction, Naira Zohrabyan, referred to kindergarten No. 92, which closed its doors to children receiving inclusive education since January 8, in a Facebook post. She wrote that the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs does not see its responsibility in the issue of leaving children with special needs on the street and has shifted the matter to the municipality's domain: “The mayor is undoubtedly familiar with this problem. Kindergarten No. 92 has closed its doors to children receiving inclusive education since January 8, because the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has ceased funding the salaries of 23 employees providing special care,” she wrote.