The society is always passive concerning educational issues. Only specialists of the relevant fields are following the discussions in the parliament and ministry of education. For the purpose of improving our educational system the ministry of education has adopted a 12-year school system this year. Elementary schools have always been under reformation programs during these 15 years of independence. Those reformations are done so fast and with shortcomings that this year we don’t know even how the final school examinations will be organized. As for the “collective” examination method that was tested in Shirak region last year, according to the minister of education, Levon Mkrtchyan, it was failed. Together with this note the minister promised to inform about the methods of organizing final school examinations by January. In spite of many educational issues, the society is interested in the final exams of schools much. They are interested in those exams because in case of the “collective” examination method it is possible to pass some entering exams not in universities, but in schools directly. It is hard to say why the society is so indifferent to educational issues while the number of private schools and universities is growing. It is very strange why people that do their best to help their children enter universities are indifferent to educational issues. In the recent years school studies have lost their role and after eight years of school studies parents send their children to take private lessons so that they can enter universities.
Definitely there are many reasons for the existing situation. I will try to discuss one of those important reasons. 15 years are not enough to speak clearly about the evolutional changes that have happened. Furthermore, it is more difficult to speak about genetic changes. Education is a serious problem for Armenian people. For making this point sure you can take the lists of universities of paid education and compare it with the social and economic situation in our country. Even the authorities agree with the fact that we should reduce poverty in our country. Hardly Armenian children could have genetic mutation during these 15 years and stop studying; the fact that most of them don’t study cannot be explained that way. I will try to bring an example of a book that it is impossible to study in schools. Most of the books make it difficult for children to study. Most of those books are written by scientists that haven’t given lessons in schools, thus they don’t know the methods that children want them to teach, they don’t know how to do that. Teachers know well that the same thing should be explained differently in fourth and nine classes. Most of the books are not written in a duly manner. For instance, a book that is made for fifth class does not have the adequate information; it is more convenient for entering exams or taking private lessons, but not school studies. You can’t teach chemistry to a fifth-class pupil. There are sentences and ideas in those books that cause the same feelings in children than torturing in men. Just at the beginning they read many terms that they haven’t ever heard. The authors don’t care about whether children may understand those things or not, otherwise they wouldn’t write the following sentence, “Different types that are living and surviving with each other are transforming to a bigger type, coenosis”. We wander which of those children are able to understand that sentence. However, they give such lessons to fifth class children and want them to understand the subject. Those books are very good for lecturers giving private lessons to children that are going to enter universities. This is the reason why after an imitation of attending school for 8-9 years they have to take private lessons so that they can enter universities. As for their parents, they pay for three types of private lessons, which they need for entering a university. Even if the children can fill up the lack of their knowledge for the purpose of entering universities, it doesn’t matter; anyway after graduating from universities they have higher education without primary education. Please agree with us that this is not a normal thing.