About 30,000 Students' Right to Education Violated, Says Artsakh Minister of Education

In Armenia, the registration of education needs for schoolchildren from Artsakh seeking refuge has begun, reported Lusine Garakhanian, the Minister of Education, Science, and Culture of Artsakh, during a press conference today. According to her, the organization of general education for students will commence on November 13, with grades 5 to 12 attending classes online, while a separate announcement will be made regarding elementary grade students.

Garakhanian noted that as a result of the war, 24,000 schoolchildren have been left without education. The rights of about 30,000 students have been violated, of whom 24,000 are schoolchildren, nearly 4,000 are preschool-aged children, and the remainder are students from vocational schools, colleges, and universities. “Since military actions are still ongoing, and we literally have no opportunity to organize education for our students at any level in Artsakh, we have decided to conduct the education of our students seeking refuge in Armenia until the end of the war,” said Garakhanian.

She also informed that Artsakh teachers who have temporarily sheltered in Armenia will have the opportunity to teach in schools if needed. “We have collected and monitored how many Artsakh teachers are currently in Armenia. They continue to be registered in the ministry's database. In schools where there is a shortage of teachers, our teachers will be involved in teaching from the relevant classrooms of the National Center for Educational Technologies. This means that the teaching of Artsakh teachers will be conducted in a unified and centralized manner,” the minister explained.

Regarding higher education institutions, according to Garakhanian, they are conducting classes online in wartime conditions. “Artsakh State University will begin on November 10, while Shushi Technology University and Mesrop Mashtots University have already started online classes. The teaching staff consists of Artsakh faculty members,” the minister stated.