At Least 5000 Teachers Will Receive Bonuses Next Year, Minister Details

The government made changes to one of its decisions during today's session on November 18, which is based on data regarding the number of students in schools and the actual number of teachers who have qualified through certification. This adjustment reflects the results of recalculating expenses allocated for the education sector in the Republic of Armenia's 2021 state budget, necessitated by the need to accurately represent these in the state budget.

The Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Vahram Dumanyan stated that this initiative aims to distribute the funds from the 2021 state budget earmarked for teacher certification according to regions, specifically for the payments of teachers who will receive bonuses as a result of voluntary certification during the months of October to December.

He highlighted that out of 1372 teachers who applied for voluntary certification, 996 participated, with 478 teachers passing the threshold of 70 points and set to receive bonuses of 30, 40, and 50 percent. “For this purpose, we are reallocating 77 million drams. We are already working on organizing the process for next year. Next year, teachers from grades 5 to 12 will be able to participate in voluntary certification across all subjects. We expect that at least 5,000 teachers will receive bonuses next year,” the minister stated.

He also emphasized that this decision proposes to allocate around 254 million drams for the renovation and outfitting of cafeterias in all 23 schools in the Gegharkunik region. “Additionally, it is proposed to allocate approximately 881 million drams to the government's reserve fund for 2021,” Dumanyan added.