During the past two years, many projects have been implemented by
Armenia’s investment fund for social services, among many the
remodeling of 104 schools in Armenia. Despite that, however,
construction on one building of the #200 school in Davtashen remained
incomplete. The chief administrator of the city council’s education
department Onik Vatyan informed “168 hours” weekly that the building
has been like that for over ten years already.
“The government has provided the school with an investment of $150,000
dollars. The school has to add another 10%, which is about $15,000
dollars. This means that the parents have to pay. There is no
alternative,” says Mr. Vatyan. But obviously “$15,000 dollars is too
much for 600 students to pay and there is practically no hope that the
money will ever be collected.”
The #200 school in Davtashen will not participate in Armenia’s
investment fund for social services contest until the parents don’t
collect the $15,000 dollars. Today, the students are collecting 100
dram bills, 500 dram bills with hope that the money will be collected
in a couple of years, but Mr. Vatyan knows that “you can’t get $15,000
dollars just by collecting 100 and 500 dram bills.”
The school would probably continue to collect money the same way if it
wasn’t for one benefactor who suddenly agreed to help. “Fortunately, we
managed to find a benefactor who, at the present, has given his word to
help the school financially. I don’t wish to say the name of the
benefactor right now, but I will as soon as we get the support,” said
Mr. Vatyan.
When asked what was to become of the 100, 500 dram bills which were
continuously being collected by the students, Mr. Vatyan could not give
a reply. According to sources, there was a time when the building of
Davtashen’s #200 school was put up for auction. Whoever paid the fixed
amount could then do whatever he or she wanted to do with the school.
A.M.