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PARENTS STRUGGLE AS ARMENIAN NURSERIES CLOSE
By Olga Yesayan
IWPR Institute for War and Peace Reporting
CAUCASUS REPORTING SERVICE No. 569
December 8, 2010
UK
Once-ubiquitous kindergarten provision has shrunk due to funding
shortages.
Armenians are finding it hard to return to work because kindergartens
are closing down and places for pre-school children are becoming
harder to find.
The universal kindergarten provision of the Soviet era became
a casualty of the economic crisis that followed the collapse of
communism in 1991.
By 1996, when kindergartens were handed over to local authorities
to manage, more than one in ten had already closed. Municipal and
village administrations were unable to afford their upkeep, and the
decline has been even sharper since then.
Only 30 of the 94 districts in Armavir region, for example, now provide
nurseries. Parents there are reluctant to entrust their children to
those that remain.
"I really want my children to go to a decent nursery so they can
interact with their peers and learn something new," mother-of-two
Karine Mkhitaryan, 26, told IWPR. "If I knew they'd be in safe hands,
I could find myself a job with a clear conscience. But sadly I don't
have that option."
Her local kindergarten in the village of Nalbandyan is in poor
condition, and the food given to the children is poor quality.
Some 55 children are currently attending the Nalbandyan kindergarten.
Built in 1970, it still has lockers from Soviet times, although the
doors on many have fallen off, plus some old desks, a ragged carpet
and a few toys. Even the water supply is intermittent.
"Of course, the head says staff are doing all they can to keep
everything clean. But they can't work miracles when there are no
decent toilets, and when the children have to play in the courtyard
and roll about on the ground all summer, since there isn't a decent
hall with toys inside," Mkhitaryan said.
Some experts say the government was right to abolish the centralised
system for pre-school education, and that advanced countries generally
run nurseries at local level. However, the reform in Armenia was
implemented at a time when local authorities did not have the money
to cover costs.
Gayane Sayadyan, head of Armavir region's education department, sees
decentralisation as the root of all the problems with pre-school
provision - the lack of heating, decent food, new furniture, and more.
"Municipalities don't have the financial resources to provide for
all the kindergartens' needs," she said. "When funds are issued to
village administrations, the sum that must be earmarked for education
needs to be specified."
Sayadyan says six kindergartens in Armavir region have been refurbished
and had their heating systems repaired in the last three years,
thanks to charity organisations.
Heating is a major problem for kindergartens, and only a handful in
Armavir can keep going through the winter. In urban areas, they take
a three-month break, while some in the villages stop for as long as
seven months.
This means they are little help to parents trying to find work or
hold down a job.
Psychologists like Lilit Grigoryan say such interruptions can also
cause problems for children by disruption the process of adaptation
and integration into education.
Despite assurances from the Nalbanyan kindergarten's director, Susanna
Ghukasyan, that it will reopen after the winter break, some parents
will not be sending their children back there.
Armine Manukyan, for example, said she was concerned about sanitary
conditions there, and also the fact that her son had found it hard
to fit in.
Government officials said they were unaware of allegations of
insanitary conditions at kindergartens. The issue seems to fall
between the cracks in a system where kindergartens are run at local
level but regulated overall by the education ministry.
Since the government does not force municipalities to provide adequate
funding, Ghukasyan is placing her hopes in the local government chief
in Nalbandyan.
"The head of the village administration has promised to help solve
our problems during his term," she said. "But they also say they
haven't got the funds to do everything at once."
Olga Yesayan is a freelance reporter in Armenia.
From: A. Papazian
By Olga Yesayan
IWPR Institute for War and Peace Reporting
CAUCASUS REPORTING SERVICE No. 569
December 8, 2010
UK
Once-ubiquitous kindergarten provision has shrunk due to funding
shortages.
Armenians are finding it hard to return to work because kindergartens
are closing down and places for pre-school children are becoming
harder to find.
The universal kindergarten provision of the Soviet era became
a casualty of the economic crisis that followed the collapse of
communism in 1991.
By 1996, when kindergartens were handed over to local authorities
to manage, more than one in ten had already closed. Municipal and
village administrations were unable to afford their upkeep, and the
decline has been even sharper since then.
Only 30 of the 94 districts in Armavir region, for example, now provide
nurseries. Parents there are reluctant to entrust their children to
those that remain.
"I really want my children to go to a decent nursery so they can
interact with their peers and learn something new," mother-of-two
Karine Mkhitaryan, 26, told IWPR. "If I knew they'd be in safe hands,
I could find myself a job with a clear conscience. But sadly I don't
have that option."
Her local kindergarten in the village of Nalbandyan is in poor
condition, and the food given to the children is poor quality.
Some 55 children are currently attending the Nalbandyan kindergarten.
Built in 1970, it still has lockers from Soviet times, although the
doors on many have fallen off, plus some old desks, a ragged carpet
and a few toys. Even the water supply is intermittent.
"Of course, the head says staff are doing all they can to keep
everything clean. But they can't work miracles when there are no
decent toilets, and when the children have to play in the courtyard
and roll about on the ground all summer, since there isn't a decent
hall with toys inside," Mkhitaryan said.
Some experts say the government was right to abolish the centralised
system for pre-school education, and that advanced countries generally
run nurseries at local level. However, the reform in Armenia was
implemented at a time when local authorities did not have the money
to cover costs.
Gayane Sayadyan, head of Armavir region's education department, sees
decentralisation as the root of all the problems with pre-school
provision - the lack of heating, decent food, new furniture, and more.
"Municipalities don't have the financial resources to provide for
all the kindergartens' needs," she said. "When funds are issued to
village administrations, the sum that must be earmarked for education
needs to be specified."
Sayadyan says six kindergartens in Armavir region have been refurbished
and had their heating systems repaired in the last three years,
thanks to charity organisations.
Heating is a major problem for kindergartens, and only a handful in
Armavir can keep going through the winter. In urban areas, they take
a three-month break, while some in the villages stop for as long as
seven months.
This means they are little help to parents trying to find work or
hold down a job.
Psychologists like Lilit Grigoryan say such interruptions can also
cause problems for children by disruption the process of adaptation
and integration into education.
Despite assurances from the Nalbanyan kindergarten's director, Susanna
Ghukasyan, that it will reopen after the winter break, some parents
will not be sending their children back there.
Armine Manukyan, for example, said she was concerned about sanitary
conditions there, and also the fact that her son had found it hard
to fit in.
Government officials said they were unaware of allegations of
insanitary conditions at kindergartens. The issue seems to fall
between the cracks in a system where kindergartens are run at local
level but regulated overall by the education ministry.
Since the government does not force municipalities to provide adequate
funding, Ghukasyan is placing her hopes in the local government chief
in Nalbandyan.
"The head of the village administration has promised to help solve
our problems during his term," she said. "But they also say they
haven't got the funds to do everything at once."
Olga Yesayan is a freelance reporter in Armenia.
From: A. Papazian