I Was Surprised to Learn That There Are Teachers in Armenia Earning 25,000-30,000 Dram a Month: Pashinyan

During a discussion on the program to assist teachers without higher education, as mandated by part 5 of Article 38 of the Law on General Education, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that this initiative is specifically for teachers.

“We need to help them. This policy is not meant to push people out of the system; on the contrary, it is intended to ensure more institutional involvement. I believe we must support all teachers by any means necessary. We must be fair to our children and students in order to guarantee their proper education. I am convinced, and experience shows, that the level of education today preordains the level of well-being that student will have in adulthood. Today, when we face the phenomenon of poverty and try to highlight its root causes, ultimately, it is the services not received at any level of education that contribute to it. There are no other causes for poverty. There may be a small percentage of people who, due to life's circumstances, have fallen out, have received some education at a certain time but later fell out of the educational framework,” said Pashinyan.

He added that the government must ensure that individuals can support their families above the poverty line through their work. “I was surprised to learn that in our republic there are teachers who earn 25,000-30,000 dram a month. This speaks to an illogical and dishonest compromise. There is something even more horrifying in our reality; a teacher's job is perceived to be just about leaving the house. But excuse me, who is responsible for the education of children? Or if this is the situation, then there is a gap in education, and we are now proposing to fill that gap,” the Prime Minister concluded.