Clarification from the Ministry of Education on the Ban of Military Patriotic Activities in Schools

The information regarding the ban on all types of military patriotic activities and educational gatherings in schools is not true. This was stated by the head of the public education and extracurricular institutions coordination department of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, Stal Sardaryan, during a conversation with 24News.

For further details on this topic, Sardaryan requested inquiries to be directed to the Ministry's Public Relations and Media Department. The Press Secretary of the Ministry, Gegham Melikbekyan, provided clarification regarding the "Safe Schools" international declaration to the media.

The "Safe Schools" declaration is an intergovernmental political commitment that allows countries to implement specific measures to protect students, teachers, schools, and universities from attacks during armed conflict and to prevent the military use of schools in order to ensure the continuity of education during times of armed conflict.

Gegham Melikbekyan conveyed the following response to 24News: "Since Zhanna Andreasyan's appointment as Minister, no circular letter regarding the 'Safe Schools' international declaration has been sent to public schools in Armenia. Incidentally, the minister does not send circulars in an official capacity; she signed the letter previously as Deputy Minister coordinating the sector. A relevant letter was sent to regional administrations and the Yerevan Municipality, as well as schools under the Ministry’s jurisdiction, due to the necessity of fulfilling the requirements of the declaration, specifically to protect educational institutions from targeting.

Armenia ratified the 'Safe Schools' international declaration back in 2017, becoming the 60th country to join this humanitarian international document. Currently, 115 countries have joined the declaration. It raises serious concerns that Azerbaijan refuses to ratify the 'Safe Schools' declaration, thereby disrupting the global coalition's efforts to protect the education sector from targeted attacks during armed conflicts. Furthermore, during the 44-day war, Azerbaijan set up its positions near educational institutions, later accusing the Armenian side of attacks," Melikbekyan stated.

It is noteworthy that when information emerged about the government's intention to merge the V. Bryusov State University with the Physical Culture Institute and Kh. Abovian Armenian State Pedagogical University, the Ministry of Education consistently denied such reports. However, when this information received a broad response, the Ministry had no choice but to speak more openly about the issue and confirm the accuracy of the reports.