Education rules have been tightened in Armenia to prevent evasion of military service, Azernews reports, citing the local press.
Education expert Serob Khachatryan said that the Science and Education Ministry is trying to prevent the fraud of parents who are trying to delay the conscription of their sons by making it difficult for school-aged children to enter secondary schools.
It should be noted that the current general education procedure has been changed. According to the change, starting from 2025, 7- and 8-year-old children will go to the second or third grade, depending on their age, instead of the first grade.
"Now, if parents send their children to school a year late, it will be a disaster for him. If the child immediately goes to the second grade, his education will simply fail. Even the most talented child cannot immediately master the program of both the first and second grades," Khachatryan said.
The expert noted that the main motivation for parents who send their children to school a year or two later is the respite from the army for boys, parents simply think that 6 years old is too early for school.
According to the expert, if the child is not sent to school on time, according to the new rule, parents will still not achieve what they want, because students will study in the same class as their peers and finish school at the age of 18.
"The ministry proposes a tough decision. It hopes that parents will not take such a step to avoid difficulties for children. This decision will have a positive effect only if parents see that the previous rule no longer works and send their children to school on time," Khachatryan said.
Psychologist Migrdat Madatyan, head of one of the psychological centers, approached the issue from a different angle. According to him, the decision of the ministry calls into question the meaning of education in the first grade.
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