Students Strike and Teachers Protest at Abovyan School No. 1

At Abovyan School No. 1 named after Khachatur Abovyan, protests continue against the newly appointed director, Karmile Arakelyan. Students have initiated a strike, while teachers have declared a work stoppage. During a live broadcast on Facebook, history teacher Haik Paytyan stated that their protests will continue, as they remain resolute in their fight. They demand the return of the former director, Metaksy Baghyan, to the position.

“We do not intend to work with this appointee; the classrooms are also empty,” he stressed.

It is important to note that the situation escalated after the director elections held on January 22, where the votes of the council were evenly split 4-4, and the issue of selecting the school director was to be addressed by the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports. According to the school’s administrative body, the council responsible for selecting the director consisted of eight members: two representatives of the teaching staff, two from the parent council, three from the Ministry of Education, and one from the regional governor's office.

Following the competition, the Ministry of Education decided to appoint Karmile Arakelyan as the director, but the teaching staff insists that the process was unfair, claiming that Arakelyan is under the patronage of former Kotayk governor Romanos Petrosyan.

For more details, watch the video.