Epress.am News from Armenia
This is nothing else but to deceive the public, an unprecedented display of contempt, lies and falsehoods directed at them whose authors, deprived of basic human dignity, apparently didn’t measure their steps. This statement was made yesterday by the civil society initiative “We are against the re-opening of foreign-language schools” concerning the recent developments in the passing of the draft law on this matter.
The statement released by the group notes that during the Sept. 27 National Assembly (NA) parliamentary hearings related to the second reading of the bill to make amendments and additions to the RA Laws on Language and Education, National Assembly Chair Hovik Abrahamyan officially stated the following:
“… the legislative package has been discussed in detail by RA President Mr. Serzh Sargsyan and the coalition partners… it is proposed to revise the bills presented during the second reading based on the following approaches: to address the issue only through making additions and amendments to the Law on Education, [and] removing the draft law on making changes to the Law on Language from the legislative package.”
Members of the group “We are against the re-opening of foreign-language schools” state that the summary of the discussions on the National Assembly’s official website, referring to Minister of Education and Science Armen Ashotyan’s remarks, state that “the discussions resulted in the planned amendment to the RA Law on Language to be removed from the package. Amendments will be proposed only in the RA Law on Education.”
“Despite their own statements, apparently not finding the possibility of opening foreign-language schools only through the Law on Education, the draft law presented by the government on making changes to the Law on Language will be put to discussion at the 45th session of the NA [Standing] Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport. It [i.e. the bill] reads: ‘The implementation of international educational programs are defined by the Republic of Armenia Law on Education.’ The latter anticipates the possibility of opening 11 foreign-language schools, which, we are convinced, will be only the first phase. Once again we call on our constituents to be ever-vigilant: to be watchful of this shameful example [precedent],” reads the statement by the group.