RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan received the expert group headed by the Head of the UNESCO Division for Education Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems Borhene Chakroun. The mission was sent to Armenia to conduct a needs assessment in education.

ESCS Deputy Ministers Arthur Martirosyan and Araqsia Svajyan also attended the meeting.

Welcoming the UNESCO representatives, Zhanna Andreasyan first drew their attention to the issue of the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, referring in this context, in particular, to the violation of education and other fundamental rights of about 30 thousand children. The ESCS Minister informed that in connection with the problem, a corresponding letter was also sent to the directors of the UNESCO, the UN Children's Fund and the World Food Program in December 2022.

“As a result of the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh due to the illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan, a number of basic rights of about 120 thousand residents have been violated: of these, 30 thousand are children. Hence, I want to touch on the violation of their right to education. The right of children to education is violated due to the impossibility to supply food, periodic disruptions on the part of Azerbaijan in gas supply and power outages, both in kindergartens, schools and other educational institutions: this unacceptable situation has been going on for rather a long time,” said Zhanna Andreasyan, expressing hope that targeted actions of international structures, including UNESCO, will contribute to the settlement of the problem.

The Minister deeply appreciated UNESCO's assistance in the process of developing the “RA Education Development State Program until 2030” and noted that they also expect the support of development partners in the implementation of the action plan provided for by the program.

“Modernization and strengthening of both content and professional potential, development of an inclusive, safe environment and ensuring access for all population groups in accordance with the labor market and modern professional requirements are identified as our goals. We attach importance to cooperation with the private sector, work-based learning, institutional and program accreditation, infrastructure, and provision of material and technical base,” said Zhanna Andreasyan.

Thankful for the reception, Borhene Chakroun highly appreciated the reform programs developed by the Government of the Republic of Armenia as part of the transformation of education. The head of the expert group reaffirmed UNESCO's willingness to contribute to the implementation of reforms in Armenia within the framework of the Strategy for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (EFTP): “Armenia is an important partner for us. We have already got familiarized with the “RA Education Development State Program until 2030”, which defines very ambitious programs and goals. We appreciate your efforts in the process of designing and developing this strategic document. This indicates your willingness to implement the transformation of education. Yesterday we had a meeting with other development partners. There is a generally positive attitude in terms of implementing the ideas included in the education development state program and the action plan. We are ready to assist in the implementation of systemic reforms and discuss specific cooperation programs.”

The sides also touched upon the development of vocational education and training in Armenia, the activities of colleges and vet schools, the development of human capital and capacity enhancement, as well as prospects for cooperation in this context. Zhanna Andreasyan informed the representatives of UNESCO that soon the draft law on “Vocational Education and Training” will be submitted for approval to the RA Government, which proposes to institutionalize the work-based learning model, which has been implemented with pilot programs so far. According to the ESCS Minister, a toolkit for new formats of cooperation with the private sector has been developed through the policy of the education sector as a result of which the possibility of changing the management model of colleges and vet schools is being considered.

At the meeting, the sides also touched upon other issues of mutual interest. An agreement was reached to take practical steps on the topics discussed.