Substantial Support for Families with Three or More Children, Says Pashinyan

During the government's meeting today, July 15, it was decided to set the financing procedure for pre-school educational institutions based on the state budget's per-child calculation, including the increased amount of financing necessary for ensuring special conditions for education and development.

Education Minister Vahram Dumanyan presented the issue and noted that there are significant differences in the conditions for implementing educational programs in community pre-school institutions, as well as in employee compensation. For the financing of pre-school institutions, in some cases, the average number of children's attendances is considered the baseline, while in other cases, the planned number is used. As a result, significant differences in financial allocations arise.

The size of compensations for institution staff varies significantly under the same conditions of experience and educational background. The presented financing procedure aims to regulate the sector by proposing a unified methodology for financing,” the acting minister stated.

He also mentioned that considering the fact that the per-child calculation from the state budget implies an increase in the expenditure part of the state budget, the draft suggests applying the following schedule: funding from the state budget on a per-child basis for certain groups of children will be implemented as follows: from September 1, 2022, for children who need special conditions for education and development; from September 1, 2023, for children of families registered in the family benefit system; from September 1, 2024, for children of parents with three or more children; and from September 1, 2025, for children of soldier parents.

“Financing from the state budget on a per-child basis amounts to around 425,000 drams annually. It is expected that the expenditure part of the state budget will increase,” Dumanyan emphasized.

In his turn, acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated, “In fact, we are creating opportunities for a salary increase for educators in certain areas starting September 1, 2022. I propose that we agree that this salary increase will occur after qualification testing. That is, we will only raise the salaries of those teachers who will have passed the qualification testing.” He also added that for the 3rd and every subsequent child, we are establishing a benefit, which we call a fee for that family. “We will provide substantial support to families with three or more children. We must agree that there is a need to implement a salary increase policy in the education system, but this policy cannot take place without an increase in qualifications.”