YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. A parliamentary committee will debate the expediency of the mandatory chess lessons in schools.

Mkhitar Hayrapetyan, chair of the Education, Science, Culture, Diaspora, Sports and Youth Afairs Committee of Parliament said in a statement that his committee will engage in “multilateral” discussions over the issue “given the fact that we’ve received a number of concerns from chess players, as well as parents of school children regarding the Chess subject”.

The committee will discuss how to increase the functional significance of the lesson, the spending efficiency, how to integrate modern technologies in the raining and assessment processes of the subject (which will contribute to children’s motivation).

The lawmakers will also debate the pros and cons of the chess lesson’s mandatory/voluntary options.

Earlier in February, education authorities said they were considering scrapping chess lessons in schools.

Chess is a compulsory school lesson in Armenia since 2011.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan