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The Cabinet on Thursday approved the draft of the 3rd Loan Program for Improving Seismic Safety between the Republic of Armenia and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The agenda item was reported by Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan, who noted that the Government’s school construction policy will continue: the current program for the construction and renovation of 300 schools is already nearing completion, and it will be followed by a new program for 300 schools.
According to the minister, the 300-school program was formed and developed within the framework of a number of partnerships. In particular, the initial program for modular schools was later transformed into the format of educational complexes. Major school construction works have been carried out through state investments, in cooperation with international organizations. In this context, Andreasyan highlighted the work carried out with the Asian Development Bank under the Seismic Safety Improvement Program.
“Through cooperation with the Asian Development Bank, the program was launched in 2016. Within its framework, the construction and strengthening of 46 schools was planned, covering 20,000 student beneficiaries,” the minister said.
The minister said standard school designs were also developed within the framework of the program, which are currently being used not only for schools envisaged under the ADB program, but also for the construction of schools. Their availability makes it possible, in many cases, to adapt already existing designs to the relevant sites instead of developing a new project, and to build new schools and educational complexes based on them.
The Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports said that the 46 schools being built in cooperation with the ADB are included in the Government’s 300-school program: work has already been completed at 30 schools, while work at 16 will be completed by the end of the year.
“The new, third program for improving seismic safety envisages the construction of another 50 schools. Within the framework of this program, the issue is not only the continued support for the construction of schools, but also ensuring quality work,” Andreasyan noted.
In particular, the loan agreement envisages measures aimed at ensuring and improving the quality of design and construction. By 2027, it is planned to revise the expert examination procedures, as well as conduct capacity-building training on the technical maintenance of schools and develop the necessary manuals.
The total value of the program is around $366 million, of which around $73 million is the Government’s co-financing, while $293 million is financing from the Asian Development Bank.
During the discussion of the issue, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also addressed the progress of the school construction program, recalling that the previous day, five newly built schools had opened in Yerevan and the Ararat, Armavir and Aragatsotn provinces. According to the prime minister, visits to newly built schools show the successful progress of the program.
“As we agreed, by the end of this year we will have completed the construction, reconstruction or renovation works in at least 303 schools,” Pashinyan said.
According to him, the Government is already launching the second 300-school program, but the school construction process will not end with it. The prime minister noted that there will still be a need to continue the program after the second 300 schools.
“As a result of these programs, we should have around 1,000 new schools throughout the republic, so that we can be confident that we have created normal physical infrastructure for modern education in the Republic of Armenia,” Pashinyan said.
The prime minister also linked the development of educational infrastructure to the country’s further economic development, emphasizing that vocational education and training is also of great importance among the programs being implemented in the education sector. According to him, the Government’s program already includes a program for the construction and renovation of 30 colleges. He also recalled that under the Government’s new program, the Academic City project will enter the practical construction phase.
In response, Andreasyan noted that the proper upkeep and maintenance of newly built educational institutions, as well as the establishment of relevant standards, are also challenging issues at present. According to her, the existing standards do not meet the requirements of new buildings and need to be revised. The Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports added that relevant work will begin in that direction.