Nine Border Communities Schools to Receive State Grant for Improving Safety Conditions

The schools in nine border communities of the Syunik, Tavush, and Gegharkunik regions are set to receive grants from the Republic of Armenia's Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports as part of the 'Safe School' program. The funding will be used to enhance safety infrastructure, including the improvement of shelters and the construction of safety walls, as reported by the Ministry's press service.

Out of the thirteen schools that applied for the grant aimed at the implementation of the 'Integrated Security Assurance for Schools' initiative, nine were recognized as winners. The awarded schools are:

• Artanish Secondary School in Gegharkunik
• Mutsqi Basic School in Syunik
• Aigepart Secondary School in Tavush
• Movses Geghi P. Avalyan Secondary School in Tavush
• Berdevan Secondary School in Tavush
• Vaskepar H. Barseghyan Secondary School in Tavush
• N. Tsaghkavan Secondary School in Tavush
• Vazashen Secondary School in Tavush
• Sevkar Secondary School in Tavush

According to the contracts signed with the Ministry of Education and Science, the institutions will carry out measures aimed at reducing disaster risks within the established timeframes. Each school will receive a maximum of 2,372,200 AMD for the implementation of these activities.

The 'Safe School' program commenced last year. In 2019, a total of 13,589,800 AMD from state funds was allocated to improve safety conditions in six schools across the republic. For the same purpose, the 2020 state budget allocated more than 23 million AMD, with a preliminary grant set to be awarded to ten schools, although only nine met the competition conditions.

The program is set to continue into 2021 as well. The aim of the 'Safe School' program is to support actions aimed at reducing non-structural risks in public educational institutions in the regions, by assisting in the improvement of disaster risk management plans and the response to emergencies in educational establishments.