The session of Gyumri Council of the Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Economic Issues was held on November 27, during which a heated debate over a proposal made by the “GALA” faction took place. “GALA” faction Council member Kristine Mkrtchyan, noting that unequal conditions are created for children attending kindergarten in the Republic of Armenia (kindergartens in Yerevan are free, and in Gyumri those cost 7000-8000 drams per month, 1700-1800 children do not attend kindergarten), proposed Committee members to include the issue of asking the government for subsidization in the Council session agenda.
“I would like all of us consider about a very important issue, it is about children attending Gyumri preschools, as we know, there is a situation in the Republic of Armenia where education and upbringing of children in preschools are not equal for everyone. For example, in the capital, children have access to preschool education for free, but not in Gyumri or any other community. In this case it is worth to be concerned about Gyumri, because poverty in our city and in our region is at a high level, Gyumri currently has 46 percent poverty rate, it is worth considering this, so that children in Gyumri also have equal rights. Preschools cost 7000-8000 drams on average. This creates unequal conditions for children, unequal in the sense that everyone in the capital has the opportunity to study in primary school, and not everyone in Gyumri has that opportunity”, said Kristine Mkrtchyan. She offered to apply to the government and ask for money.
“According to our calculations, approximately 1 billion, perhaps a little more,200 million drams, is required to make pre-school education free of charge for children, the Gyumri City Hall annually allocates more than half of this amount, 550 million it allocates for pre-school children, 500 million is missing”, said Kristine Mkrtchyan.
A representative of the “Armenian Renaissance” party of the Council of Elders, Hamik Poghosyan, reminded the statement of the Minister of Territorial Administration David Lokyan on the reduction of the number of kindergartens, noting that the proposal is not timely. Some concerns were also voiced that this could make parents move their children from some community kindergartens, result in unification of some kindergartens, which in its turn will result in unemployment, private kindergartens will open, and God knows whether the owners will hire the specialists being left out from other kindergartens.
Lusine Sanoyan, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Economic Affairs, suggested first to examine whether 1700-1800 children do not attend kindergartens due to social conditions. She said that when demanding money, a clear analysis, precise calculation are needed.
Head of the Education Department of the City Hall, Hayk Sultanyan noted that they have tried to address any applications they have received, and that, unlike the capital, Gyumri City Hall does not make people wait for years to register, the entrance is open, there are even underloaded kindergartens. According to him, there are different reasons for which 1700-1800 children do not attend kindergartens, the reason is not just social.
It was decided to discuss this issue also in the presence of National Assembly deputies since they did not come to a common agreement.
Nune AREVSHATYAN
