Teachers' Salaries Up 67%, Minister Says at Conference

Ahead of International Teachers' Day, a teachers' conference titled "Safe and Secure Educational Environment" was held at Yerevan State University, which became an important platform for discussing the sector's challenges, achievements, and future actions. The event, attended by RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan, high-ranking representatives of international organizations, and hundreds of educators, summarized the tangible results of reforms implemented in the education sector and outlined new paths for development.

"Ensuring a safe and secure educational environment should be the most important component of our daily work. If the student and teacher do not feel safe and secure in the educational environment, the educational outcome cannot be successful," the minister emphasized in her speech, calling on educators to speak openly and freely about existing problems to find joint solutions for them. In the context of the sector's development, the minister presented impressive financial indicators that testify to the government's consistent policy aimed at valuing the work of teachers. She noted that while in 2018 the salary fund for teachers was about 55 billion drams, in recent years, as a result of the introduction of various toolkits, it has increased by more than 37 billion drams, recording a 67% growth. This year alone, more than 8,400 teachers have applied for voluntary certification, and in previous years, more than 6,300 educators have become beneficiaries of the system and received a salary increase. "Without exaggeration, we can say that about half of our teachers are either already beneficiaries of the system or have applied to become beneficiaries," stated Zhanna Andreasyan.

Among the future-oriented steps, the minister highlighted the development of a new law "On the Status of the Teacher." This document is intended to define the social guarantees that will protect current teachers and promote the entry of new, qualified personnel into the system.

The importance of the conference, which is being implemented within the framework of the European Union's budget support program, was also emphasized by representatives of the EU Delegation to the RA and UNICEF. The event concluded with a festive ceremony: on the occasion of International Teachers' Day, a number of distinguished figures in the sector were awarded with medals and certificates from the ESCS Ministry, and the winners of the "Best of the Year" competition were encouraged with letters of appreciation.