Education Expert Discusses Unpublished Textbooks

The lack of printed textbooks for the 2023-2024 academic year could lead to serious issues, possibly leaving students and teachers without resources for the entire first semester or even the whole year. This was stated by education expert Atom Mkrtchyan in an interview with Sputnik Armenia.

It should be noted that many schoolchildren start September without books, as the old standards have been changed, and the new ones are still in development. The competition for textbooks was announced last year, with deadlines extended several times. Currently, the textbooks that have been guaranteed for use are in the printing phase.

The issue has raised a significant wave of dissatisfaction not only among parents but also among teachers, who find themselves empty-handed and unsure of how to structure their lessons without textbooks. Moreover, the textbooks that will be available later have not been reviewed by teachers yet, and the content is new. In reality, these textbooks should have been provided to our teachers one semester in advance to familiarize them with their shortcomings and advantages,” said Mkrtchyan.

He is confident that if the school year begins without a textbook, the entire teaching process is effectively disrupted, and restoring the situation could take a long time for teachers.

The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of the Republic of Armenia also notes that it is impossible to conduct the teaching process with old textbooks, and until the new ones are printed, students may be taught through online resources.

“Well, if a student has to find all textbooks online, and the teacher also uses the internet, should we just close the schools and have everyone sit at home to learn everything electronically? After all, education is not just about transferring knowledge; one of the most important aspects is socialization. It would be better to cancel the decision to switch to new textbooks this academic year until they are printed and allow one year for learning with old textbooks,” concluded Mkrtchyan.