Scandalous Recording: Bribery and Salary 'Tax' at Yerevan's School 122

Recently, Meline Hakobyan, a teacher at Yerevan's School 122, contacted the Fact-Checking Platform and reported that the school's principal, Marina Malakhyan, took a bribe from her for employment and is now demanding a portion of her salary. The teacher provided recordings that evidently corroborate her claims.

$1500 for Employment
According to the teacher, in 2019, the principal demanded and received a bribe of $1500 for her employment. In a recording made on April 6, 2021, the teacher discusses with the principal her grievances about not being included in long-term training programs, despite having paid the bribe. The issue of bribery can also be heard in a conversation on April 8 between the teacher and the educational supervisor, Hasmik Kanjaryan.

Principal Marina Malakhyan states in the recording that wherever she goes, that 'thank you' will have to be given, while the educational supervisor, Hasmik Kanjaryan, considers the teacher's demands legitimate and plays the role of intermediary. In another conversation, the teacher begins to demand the return of the money given for employment, arguing that although bribes are also required for positions at other schools, they provide jobs in return. In this case, she found herself without work shortly after receiving the position.

Nevertheless, the core of the dispute between the teacher and the principal is not the bribe for employment.

Salary Portion as 'Tax'
The teacher indicated that during her first year of employment, she had eight classes a week as a full-time position. For this, Meline Hakobyan received a salary of 107,000 drams. During that academic year, the principal did not demand anything from Meline and 'generously' allowed her to pay off the debts incurred from the money she brought for her employment.

In the following academic year, the principal increased the number of classes from 8 to 13. For this, Meline received a salary of 135-138 thousand drams, from which 100,000 drams were kept by the principal, and the rest was handed over to her upon the principal's request. A few months later, citing complaints from students' parents about Hakobyan, the principal took away five of the thirteen classes from her and gave them to an assistant teacher, even though the assistant had no teaching qualifications. Hakobyan continued receiving her salary and transferred amounts of initially 20,000 drams and later 7,000 drams to the assistant teacher each month. After all this, the principal called Hakobyan in and demanded to increase the amount she was giving her.

In the previous academic year, the teacher was also involved in long-term education for which she was compensated. However, it appears that the long-term education was not actually provided. In other words, while the salary was being issued for it, it was not being implemented (long-term education is an additional service provided by schools which is not highly regulated by legal acts).

In a recording from April 29, which includes a conversation between the teacher, the principal, and the educational supervisor, the teacher once again tells the principal that she has regularly paid the requested amount, to which the principal responds that the teacher was not against it. In that conversation, the educational supervisor even begins to count how much money the teacher has 'returned' from her salary each month. At the end of the hour-and-a-half long conversation, the principal states, 'This is the participation of the precepts… I am reaching a court.'

'The Tax' in the School
In the recordings provided by Meline Hakobyan, it is clearly heard how the principal insults the teacher, including personal insults, using derogatory terms such as uncultured, uneducated, and other offensive descriptors. The principal often does not allow the teacher to speak or interrupts her, addressing her informally while the teacher consistently addresses her formally or by her full name.

The principal raises issues that are not relevant to her or the school and are also inappropriate. For instance, she asks Meline if her husband ever questions her about her salary, and in another instance, asks why the teacher's sisters are not taking care of the parents of the students she teaches, etc.

Principal's Comment
The Fact-Checking Platform contacted Principal Marina Malakhyan to determine whether she took money from the teacher for her employment and if she demanded a share of her salary afterward. In response to the inquiries, the principal presented a lengthy account of her past, family, and school history, successes, and only after repeatedly asking the same question did she mention that Meline Hakobyan had given her flowers, toys, and sweets, which she donated to the inclusive classroom operating in the school.

Regarding the bribery for employment, Malakhyan categorically denied such allegations. She also denied the claims about demanding a 'share' from the salary but added that it is possible for teachers to give or take small amounts of money from each other during the month for substitution purposes. The principal noted that this involves 'a trivial amount' of 7-8 thousand drams, but that she has no connection to it.