Deputy Minister's Remarks on Discussions Regarding Armenian Literature Standards

The Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports, Zhanna Andreasyan, made a post on her Facebook page addressing discussions regarding the standards of Armenian literature.

“The rules of elementary manipulation: we take the current Literature textbook for the 9th grade (author: Davit Gasparyan), highlight that the title of the textbook lacks the word 'Armenian,' which we hasten to note indicates that the author has acted against the nation. Next, we open pages 125-126 of the textbook and read: 'Theater did not develop in the Middle Ages because the Armenian Church regarded theater as a form of satanism and was opposed to its existence. The Armenian Apostolic Church rejected theater. It was considered a place of satanism and was alienated from it. This spirit is reflected in the unlawful utterances created by the spiritual fathers. Alongside avoiding the enchantments of sorcerers and soothsayers, they advised staying away from theater, which was regarded as destructive mockery, a meaningless earthly amusement.' Hence the complete absence of plays in the Armenian Middle Ages. Despite the resolute bans of the Armenian Church, the Catholic Church permitted theater. From this, we can further conclude that the author has also acted against the Armenian Church, moreover, extolling the foreign Catholic Church in contrast to our national church, and we begin to criticize by spreading materials with the following headings: 'THE GROSSNESS AGAINST THE ARMENIAN CHURCH AND NATION. THE SCHOOL IS BEING CORRUPTED. The uproar is guaranteed.'

However, we do not behave this way; we do not need cheap points, we need real change. Therefore, we read, differentiate between the standards and the textbook, and when we receive frantic information that the new textbooks are destroying our educational system, we take a deep breath, remember that no textbook is under discussion; they must be developed after the approval and testing of all standards. It should be noted that the drafts of the subject standards are under discussion, which should be read if we value them and want to form our own opinion and position. We read, analyze, criticize with arguments, and send suggestions—in short, we contribute to changes in the content of general education. Because manipulation will not pass,” Andreasyan wrote.