Salary Increases Expected, Andreasian Detailed

Salary increases are anticipated for lecturers and production masters at vocational educational institutions. This decision was made during a meeting of the Armenian government.

Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasian stated that this move aims to enhance the attractiveness of jobs in these institutions. She reminded that college lecturers and production masters currently receive minimum wages.

According to Andreasian, this is the first certification attempt for colleges, and four areas were selected: jewelry, culinary arts, agriculture, and information technology. “Preliminary data indicates that there will be quite positive results, and many have successfully passed the certification,” Andreasian elaborated.

On November 30, the certification was conducted for 361 participants in various centers in Yerevan, and the results will be published on December 6.

According to the proposed changes, a participant who achieves a result of 60-69 percent will have their salary rate set at 200,000 Armenian drams. A participant achieving 70-79 percent will receive a 30 percent bonus on top of their salary. Those scoring 80-89 percent will receive a 40 percent bonus, and participants scoring 90 percent or higher will gain a 50 percent bonus.

Starting next year, if a certified participant appropriately conducts the required research for their category, their salary will rise an additional 50 percent. The minister assured that those who have passed the certification will receive increased salaries this December.

Andreasian also informed that over 45,000 students are being educated in vocational educational institutions. According to her, a contributing factor for this figure is that students admitted to government-recognized priority fields such as industry, construction, and agriculture have the chance to receive a 50,000 dram scholarship.