Reforms within Armenia's educational system have returned to the spotlight following a recent statement by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. During a cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister delivered a harsh assessment of current entrance exam statistics, which he described as an alarming signal regarding the quality of instruction.
According to data from the Assessment and Testing Center, approximately 3,200 applicants failed to meet the passing threshold this year by receiving failing grades, marking an increase compared to the previous year. Pashinyan emphasized that the state should not continuously make concessions, as the consequences are ultimately borne by the students. According to him, a teacher who fails the certification process should not continue to teach in schools, as the direct result of their performance is the students' lack of preparedness for examinations.
According to the Prime Minister, the government intends to implement its adopted decisions unswervingly. This policy aims to improve the quality of teaching, guided exclusively by the educational interests of children.
This demand for rigor in the educational system reflects the authorities' concern that half-measures and incomplete reforms are jeopardizing the country's future. The issue is not merely about low grades, but the widening gap between the qualifications of the teaching staff and the knowledge of students, which can no longer be hidden behind statistical data.
It is clear that significant personnel changes are expected. The prospect of terminating employment in schools, as voiced by the head of government, means the system is bracing for painful but, according to official logic, inevitable purges. It remains to be seen whether the necessary quality can be ensured without paralyzing the teaching process.
