12-year education to become compulsory in Armenia
Until now, Armenia has had a 9-year compulsory education system. However, under a new provision made in the Law on General Education, a 12-year education system will become compulsory in Armenia.
According to Ashot Arshakyan, the Head of the Public Education Department at the Ministry of Education and Science of Armenia, the 12-year compulsory education aims to ensure stable development worldwide. Earlier, when a student completed 9th grade, he/she could either continue studies in a high school or specialized secondary educational institutions that offered vocational education, or confine oneself to a 9-grade education. Now however, those who complete 9th grade should either proceed with school education, or get a profession at a specialized secondary educational institution.
Artag Poghosyan, the Director of the National Center for Educational Technologies (NCET), said that fewer of those who finish the 9th grade refuse to continue education.
“A study that we conducted in 2016 revealed that 98% of students continue studies after the 9th grade. In other words, the government needs to solve the problem of the remaining 2%, so that they also continue education,” Artak Poghosyan noted.
