The Scandal Continues at Yerevan's School No. 130: What the Municipality and School Are Reporting

For several days now, a tense situation has persisted at Yerevan's School No. 130 named after Nairi Zarian. Parents of students were holding a protest in the school yard and demanded a meeting with the director, Nvard Hovsepyan. The parents have noted that during the 1.5 years of the new director's tenure, dozens of teachers have been dismissed at their own request. Just yesterday, all three deputy directors simultaneously submitted their resignations.

Auroranews spoke with Elena Harutyunyan, the Deputy Head of the General Education Department on this matter. During our conversation, she stated that the educational process is proceeding appropriately and normally. "Everything is calm at the school at the moment. Representatives from the Police have been at the school this morning for cases involving minors, taking into account yesterday's events, to prevent any potential dangers," the deputy said.

According to her, just like in all work environments, disagreements occur in schools as well. "Disagreements, whether subjective or objective, happen in every workplace. Naturally, both objective and subjective reasons are being examined. In this case, as a competent body, the priority for the Yerevan Municipality is to properly organize the educational process and to overcome interpersonal issues for the benefit of the students and the school. We are working in this direction to try to relieve this tension and to understand how we will solve the problems in peaceful conditions," the official elaborated.

Harutyunyan emphasized that the issue is multifaceted. "There are complaints that are worthy of examination. Additionally, the Educational Inspectorate recently conducted inspections, and we are awaiting the results of their analysis. These results will be provided to us so that we can have a more comprehensive view. As part of the investigation into the complaints, we’ve held discussions and meetings with all parties involved, and at this time, the General Education Department has also met with deputy directors at a state level; we have talked, understood the situation, and communicated with the school director. Our contribution will be to rectify the situation as much as possible for the benefit of the school and the educational process," she noted.

When asked whether the school director's removal from office is being considered if the situation does not stabilize, the Deputy Head of the General Education Department stated, "Any option can be discussed for the benefit of the school. This means that if at any point we understand that certain steps need to be taken for the school’s benefit, those steps will naturally be taken. However, we also have parents who came today wanting to invite the media to support the director. It is unacceptable for us that certain issues are being manipulated to favor one side or the other. We have requested that such tendencies be prevented so that the school does not become the epicenter of sensational events. This does not serve the rights of children or the effectiveness of the educational process. At this moment, it is essential for us to relieve the tension and understand the solutions in peaceful conditions and the path forward,” she said.

It should be noted that, according to panorama.am, there is currently a strike and chaos at the school. Students are demanding the resignation of director Nvard Hovsepyan, who has called in police since yesterday. The school management board also informed Aysor.am that shocking facts of embezzlement involving millions of drams by director N. Hovsepyan were uncovered during administrative proceedings following inspections conducted at the school last week. Afterward, director N. Hovsepyan allegedly demanded that deputies enter classrooms and instruct students to "practice" lying to the representatives of the inspecting authority by claiming that group classes were conducted, and moreover, required deputies to speak with parents to prevent them from filing complaints regarding classes that were purportedly held but for which funds were improperly allocated and misappropriated by him.