Gnel sargsyan biography of donald

Villagers in remote rural communities in Armenia say that more and more local schools are being forced to close as pupil numbers dwindle.

Although the education ministry has played down the closures, media reports and IWPR interviews with local leaders indicate that around ten village schools have shut down in the past four years. Residents say several dozen more are at imminent risk of closure.

In the tiny village of Shrvenants in the southern Syunik region, for instance, the only child of school age is the son of Armine Manukyan, who is head of the local commune (a formal position).

The school in Shrvenants once had 400 pupils, but when it closed in 2010, only two pupils graduated from the final-year class.

“Unfortunately, at this point there is only one school-age child in the village, my son, and he’s forced to go to a nearby school in [the provincial centre] Kapan,” Manukyan told IWPR, recalling a time when the school was central to village life.

Gnel Sargsyan, the commune head in Khndrants, also in Syunik, said the village only had one child, with another four living in the nearby village of Arevis. That meant the local school would probably close down next year, he said.

Armenia’s population is in steady decline as large numbers of people, especially from rural areas, move abroad to find work. The government’s migration agency says that between 900,000 and one million citizens travel to Russia and stay for a period of two or three years. Figures for 2008-13 show that 212,000 people emigrated from Armenia on a permanent basis, a massive figure for a country with a population of fewer than three million.

Despite claims of a growing economy, poverty levels remain high, particularly in rural areas.

Fatoyan Bro, the head of Otevan village in the Aragatsotn region, told IWPR that the school there closed last year.

“It was only [catering for] three or four children, so... the parents were forced to move to neig

We’re sorry, this site is currently experiencing technical difficulties.
Please try again in a few moments.
Reference ID: