Either the Minister of Education is Misleading Us, or the School Directors are Engaged in Self-Management

Either the Minister of Education is misleading all of us, or the school directors are engaged in self-management. This is stated in a statement released by the 'Enlightened Armenia' party.

The party has demanded clarification from Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports Arayik Harutyunyan regarding the funding sources for acquiring sanitary and hygienic supplies in schools after the start of in-person classes.

In response from the minister, it was stated: ‘As for the financial resources for purchasing sanitary and hygienic supplies, considering that distance learning has been in place since March 16 of the 2019-2020 academic year and that there are reserve funds in schools, the initial purchase of sanitary and hygienic supplies will be carried out with these funds. Schools that do not have sufficient saved resources will receive additional support. Subsequently, this process will be carried out with state funds.’

In this context, it becomes unclear why schools are collecting money from parents for these supplies. Information is coming from various schools, and since the previous atmosphere of distrust has not disappeared and, on the contrary, has intensified, teachers and parents are afraid to speak out about this issue.

I believe the Ministry of Education and the Yerevan City Hall must relieve parents of the burden of fundraising and verify whether the schools' reserve funds are sufficient to acquire these supplies in the necessary quantities. What is the issue that schools have decided to collect money from parents for?