Epress.am News from Armenia
On Dec. 8, principal of Yerevan school No. 94 Susanna Vardanyan called a parent-teacher meeting, the purpose of which, according to the principal, was to understand parents’ indifference and hear their concerns on the matter of heating at the school — an issue which led to a scandal resulting in the arrest of Belgian national Luc Wadewale.
On Nov. 28, Wadewale and his wife, Gayane Vardanyan, a member of the opposition bloc Armenian National Congress, went to the school to find out why the school is collecting 3,000 drams (about $8 USD) from each child to pay for heating. Previously, Vardanyan informed Epress.am that a verbal dispute took place between the vice-principal and several teachers on this matter. At this point, insists Vardanyan, her husband accidentally bumped into a portrait of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on the wall that subsequently fell and the glass covering it shattered. Afterwards, her husband was detained under charges of hooliganism, then released on Nov. 30.
The Epress.am correspondent visited the school and talked with both sides to the conflict also to find out the details of the parent-teacher meeting.
Susanna Vardanyan asked the parents and children whether there were any complaints, but only Gayane Vardanyan’s daughter complained, pointing out the conditions of the school.
Speaking to Epress.am, the principal noted that the heating problem began in 2009.
“In 2009, when we exhausted the boiler, we didn’t notice that because of warm weather conditions and due to a defect in the installation, one of the three engines was working very poorly. Since a cold front began this year, we realized that there’s a problem with the engines and decided to take measures to ensure stable temperatures in the classrooms. I instructed that additional electric [space] heaters be installed in all the classrooms, but a heater was not installed in Luc Wadewale’s daughter’s classroom. Then one of the graduates of our school offered to help and changed the engine, which broke down again 5 days later,” she said.
According to the principal, at the time the school had no funds to rebuild the engine and specialists were asking 800,000 drams (over $2,000 USD) to repair two engines.
“I called an emergency parent council meeting, we discussed the matter and, so that we don’t have to suspend classes for an indefinite period, we offered the option of parents pitching in. And we gave out our school’s bank account number, which is not prohibited by law. On Monday, when again I was dealing with boiler issues, Gayane Vardanyan comes to the school with her husband, opens the classroom door and finding out that their daughter is currently in French class on the third floor, they go up and interrupt the lesson. Then, upon the vice principal’s request, they come down and that’s where the incident occurs. Seeing that they [the vice principal and teachers] are unable to calm the parents, they call me, and I give instructions to call the police for acts of hooliganism. When I came to the school, the police had already arrived. Later, I learned that they arrested Luc Wadewale,” Susanna Vardanyan said.
The principal also mentioned that during this entire time, she wasn’t at the school and found out about what happened from the teachers.
Vardanyan charges that she contacted police to protect the rights and interests of their school.
“From the beginning, Luc and Gayane complained about the conditions at our school, pointing out the walls, the toilets, the heating. We said these are our conditions and if they’re not satisfactory they can transfer their child to another school. I even met privately with Luc, through an interpreter, and requested that he not come to the school with such demands because our schools cannot be compared with schools in Europe. They refused to transfer the child to another school, arguing that the teaching staff [here] is quite good and their complaint has to do with the school conditions. And I repeatedly said that this is a school and at any moment it can be difficult, and the law allows the parent to help the school and so I opted for that assistance. Let the state think about how much it attends to the needs and problem of the school, ” she said.
[The portrait of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan was hanging above the nameplate in the middle of this photo.]
Vardanyan said that prior to the incident, on Friday, she appealed to the Ministry of Education in writing, informing the ministry of a number of existing problems at the school, including the issue with the boilers.
“On Monday the incident took place, which was followed by the Ministry’s response, that there was no unlawful collection of money organized by us. [Education Minister] Mr. [Armen] Ashotyan confirmed that any attack on our state must be punished,” she said.
Gayane Vardanyan, Luc’s wife, insists that things wouldn’t have happened as they did if the glass cover on Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s portrait hadn’t shattered. She also denies allegations by the vice principal and teachers that Luc Wadewale cursed them and touched his genitals.