RA ESCS Minister Zhanna Andreasyan's speech at the “Shaping the Future” International Education Forum in Kazan

Dear participants of the International Forum,

Dear colleagues,

Let me welcome the organizers and all participants of the International Forum of Ministers of Education and wish fruitful work and interesting discussions.

Contemporary social events further increase the paramount importance of the education issue all over the world. Education is often considered one of the main means of combating poverty, as well as solutions to issues associated with deepening social polarization, threats to democratic development, disasters and risks, and new challenges.

However, in terms of solving these issues, education efficiency is often doubted: this issue became more prominent during the global education crisis - the Coronavirus pandemic. The outbreak of a new coronavirus pandemic, which deprived more than one and a half billion pupils of the opportunity to continue their studies, made the issues of the education system more vivid, including in the agenda the need to transform the concept of education.

Knowledge and creative thinking have become the key to social solidarity, human capital development, and sustainable economic and cultural progress in an ever-changing world. The “RA Education Development State Program until 2030” is based on this concept, which provides for the continuous, progressive development of the economy and public life of Armenia through the implementation of interrelated activities aimed at significant investments in the development of human capital.

In modern developed and developing countries, it has already been stated that the most significant investment is learning and professional training of management personnel: after all, only by solving this issue, is it possible to enhance the level of economic achievements, overcome poverty and crises. It should be noted that in the field of personnel training, a key role is assigned to the educational process itself.

The objective of the education development strategic program in Armenia is aimed at expanding human potential and developing self-realization of human capital. This concept requires a comprehensive transformed approach to various levels of the formal education system, as well as non-formal supplementary and continuing education with an emphasis on turning the education system into a life-long learning environment for a person.

In the modern world, the right to education is increasingly discussed. Therefore, it is necessary to make education a way of life, which corresponds to the vision of the “Strategy of Transformation of Armenia until 2050”. High-quality access to an efficient learning environment becomes the main platform for the development of individual capabilities, which, in turn, provides a guarantee of the implementation of learning as a public good.

During the development of the strategic document on the development of education, the international commitments adopted by the Republic of Armenia were taken into account, including Sustainable Development Goal 4, for the achievement of which the following directions are envisaged to:

1. create a universal inclusive learner-centred educational environment that will provide people throughout the RA with quality and efficient educational services at all stages of a person's life, adapted to their individual development and personal qualities,
2. increase the impact and efficiency of education, which will ensure the maximum, optimal and result-oriented allocation of resources (including human resources), to increase the organizational, financial and managerial impact of the system,
3. internationalize and export educational services and products, which should contribute to the full integration of the Armenian education system into the international educational space.

It should be emphasized the need to ensure access to a diverse and diverse use of quality educational services in each sector to advance and significantly improve the quality of life. These directions make it more expedient to introduce digital and other tools for the effective and creative transformation of the learning system through effective management, distribution of roles and responsibilities among system participants, as well as new management quality.

Creating a public and modern educational environment requires solving the following tasks:

• ensuring broad access to educational institutions and educational programs,
• provision of educational infrastructure with the use of innovative and technological opportunities,
• advancement of person-oriented mechanisms in the organization of education,
• organization of education based on the results of competencies and learning,
• advancement of state education standards and basic curricula,
• provision of high-quality and well-trained teaching personnel knowing and applying modern methods,
• qualitative improvement of educational resources and teaching materials,
• implementation of a reliable and substantive education quality assessment system in tune with national and international standards, including the assessment of the educational process and the educational environment.

Thanks to the interrelated steps aimed at education development, Armenia can export its educational products in the form of innovative educational services and products.

I would like to highlight the importance of expanding international cooperation and applying successful experience in the fields of education and science. International cooperation and the implementation of joint projects not only contribute to identifying the distinctive issues and ways of solving them but also clearly outline new perspectives and opportunities for ensuring the quality of education.

Dear colleagues,

Again, Let me thank the organizers of the International Forum for the opportunity to constructively discuss the development of education and bring cooperation to a qualitatively new level.

Thank you.