Some Students Relocated from Artsakh Continue Education in Armenia

Some students relocated from Artsakh are already continuing their education in Armenia, while options for organizing remote classes for those not yet enrolled are being considered. This was stated by Lusine Garakhanian, the Minister of Education, Science, and Culture of the Republic of Artsakh, in an interview with Armenpress.

“We still do not have a complete picture of which students have been attached to the schools, but we have students who have settled temporarily in different places and have already joined educational institutions that are close to their residence, to avoid wasting time and to continue the educational process as required,” said the minister.

She noted that kindergartens, schools, vocational schools, colleges, and universities in Armenia have opened their doors to those arriving from Artsakh. At the same time, there are teachers from Artsakh who have already begun and continue their classes online, the minister added.

She also mentioned that during the two-week extension of the autumn holiday period, the assessments will provide a clearer picture of which students established in Armenia are not involved in the educational process, in order to at least organize online education for them, because the education process cannot be paused.

According to Lusine Garakhanian, as a result of Azerbaijan's aggression, there are 61 destroyed schools, 10 kindergartens, and nearly a dozen cultural houses in Artsakh. “Two of the museums operating in Artsakh have also been destroyed, the dome of the Ghazanchetsots Church in Shushi has been damaged, and the Mosque of Gohar has suffered damage. We literally have destruction in the schools; we have schools that have been burned and shelled, and their restoration will take a long time, and their number is increasing,” the minister highlighted.

Even in this wartime situation, there are benefactors and intellectuals from the diaspora who regularly call and express their willingness to restore or rebuild various buildings. “In this regard, the picture is encouraging. However, after the end of the war, it will be necessary to reconstruct cultural houses in certain cities and villages, due to their complete destruction, for example in Askeran and Aygestan. There are completely destroyed and partially destroyed buildings,” said Lusine Garakhanian.

The minister expressed disappointment at the “criminal indifference” of the international community, where people’s right to education and cultural realization is blatantly violated before their very eyes. “I wrote a letter to the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, which has remained unanswered until now. I wrote another letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, detailing the situation of the realization of the right to education, but again there is no response. Our teachers are dying; we have lost school directors and military officers. I am deeply disappointed and I only place my hope on the soldier standing on the border,” the minister added.