RA Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan participated in the closing event of the "E-school Armenia" program.

Thanks to the program implemented by the National Center for Educational Technologies (NCET), more than 5,500 students who could not attend school for different reasons were provided with the continuity of education during the school year.

The event was attended by the Head of the Department for General Education of the ESCS Ministry Arsen Baghdasaryan, Deputy Director of the National Center for Educational Technologies Armen Kulakhszyan, teachers and pupils of the “E-school Armenia” program.

Zhanna Andreasyan thanked the teachers for their work, noting that ensuring the continuation of education in the conditions of the post-pandemic difficulties was a priority.

“The pandemic was a serious challenge for the whole world: children were deprived of the possibility of continuing education. Under these conditions, the only solution was to organize distance education, which was a new experience for different communities, teachers and specialists. Thanks to the “E-school Armenia” program, we have gained very important experience: during the pandemic we all realized that times will change, we will find ways to overcome the pandemic, but at the same time we also became convinced that educational technologies have become an integral part of the learning process. I'm glad that we are summarizing the program today, which means that the problem we had, connected with the pandemic, is overcome.”

“The competences, pedagogical innovations and the approaches that we have developed during this period should be used in further advancements of the educational process. I am sure that the role of each of you will be invaluable there,” said the Deputy Minister.

During the event, Raisa Avetyan, Head of the Distance Learning Department of the National Center for Educational Technologies of the Republic of Armenia, Director of the “E-school Armenia” program, presented the Armenian experience of organizing education in emergency situations, further steps of the "E-school Armenia" program, mechanisms for ensuring the quality of e-learning.

“The world faced new challenges in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a priority, it was also necessary to ensure the continuity of education, and quickly self-organize in the current situation. The challenge was overcome due to the joint efforts of the ESCS Ministry, the National Center for Educational Technologies, and the teacher-student community,” noted Raisa Avetyan.

It should be noted that the "E-school Armenia" program of the National Center for Educational Technologies was launched in March 2020, providing an alternative to in-person learning for more than 400,000 students in the conditions of the pandemic.

Within the framework of distance learning, more than 2500 videos were shot, which are available on the “E-school Armenia” YouTube channel. They are differentiated by grades and subjects. Some of the video tutorials are also provided with sign language translation for children with special educational needs.

After the elimination of the restrictions linked to the pandemic, centralized distance learning was implemented within the framework of the program. More than 10,000 students were enrolled in distance learning courses over the past two years.

During the 2021-2022 academic year, centralized distance learning was conducted mainly through webinars and electronic educational resources.

Using the potential of the program and the e-learning experience, in 2021 NCET also launched the program “Solving the Problem of Missing Teachers in Rural Communities of the Republic of Armenia through Distance Learning", within which trained teachers of 17 mentor schools conducted distance learning in 62 schools where a specific subject was not taught due to the absence of a teacher.

At the end of the event, teachers who participated in the program for mastering the skills of e-teaching implemented within the framework of the “E-school Armenia” program were awarded certificates by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia and the National Center for Educational Technologies.

The National Center for Educational Technologies also presented certificates of appreciation to students participating in distance learning.