School Holidays to Start Early Due to Coronavirus: Minister of Education

School holidays will commence earlier due to the coronavirus. This was announced by the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Arayik Harutyunyan.

“Based on the letter received today from the Minister of Health regarding the suspension of educational processes in educational institutions, and considering the record dangerous increase in the number of infected individuals published today (1058 cases or 36.8%), as well as the urgent necessity for the healthcare system to primarily serve the battle front, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Armenia has decided to announce a two-week autumn holiday, instead of the initially planned break from November 2, now to run from October 15 to October 29.

The decision regarding the format of class resumption will be made in two weeks, which implies that, where possible, significant restrictions should be placed on student movement and interactions. Our demand and call is that amid the state of emergency, as well as in light of the high numbers of coronavirus cases, strict adherence to anti-epidemic rules be maintained to enable the resumption of classes.

According to the letter from the Minister of Health, kindergartens, arts, fine arts, music, and sports schools will also cease operations for two weeks, while vocational schools, colleges, and universities will transition entirely to remote education. Decisions regarding the continuation of this process will be made in two weeks based on the ongoing situation. Relevant letters will be sent to educational institutions today,” he wrote.