Around 236,000 children not included in pre-school education system

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 12, ARMENPRESS. According to latest data, around 236,000 children are not included in the pre-school education system.

The Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan said at a press conference that the past two years, associated with the pandemic, were very difficult periods for kindergartens.

“If schools had the opportunity to continue education remotely, in case of kindergartens we were involving children with some limitations, and there was no opportunity for remote learning. Therefore the past two years do not reflect the system’s capacity. I will present the data of yearend 2019. According to this data we have 34,7% involvement of children up to the age of 5 in the pre-school education sector,” Andreasyan said, noting that 39,6% is urban and 25,4% is rural involvement.

In 2020 alone the capacity for involving children aged 3-5 grew by 6%. New kindergartens were opened. In 2020, an additional 22 institutions offering pre-school education were opened.

“Of course we understand that the issue of including children in kindergartens remains on the agenda. We have around 236 thousand children who aren’t included in the pre-school service. As you know the government’s program defines that the inclusion of children aged 3-5 in kindergartens must reach 85% by 2026. And according to the education development program there must be 95% involvement by 2030,” she said.

500 kindergartens will be built or rebuilt in Armenia amid an ongoing program.