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SPEAKING IN TONGUES: GOVERNMENT FURTHER MODERATES POSITION IN FOREIGN-LANGUAGE SCHOOL DEBATE
NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow
Education | 30.09.10 | 15:17
By Siranuysh Gevorgyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
The draft law on amendments in the law on language has been temporarily
taken off the parliament agenda.
The Armenian Government is no longer pressing for changes in one of
the two laws that would pave the way for opening a limited number
of schools in Armenia teaching curricula in a language other than
Armenian.
Five months after the Government proposed the changes, it now appears
the matter will be dropped from discussion in this current seating
of the National Assembly.
The Government's initial move to amend the laws was met with strong
opposition by a considerable number of intellectuals, journalists,
politicians and various public groups who say that such changes
threatened the very core of Armenian identity.
Members of the 131-seat National Assembly of Armenia voted in June by
71 yeas to 13 nays to clear, through the first reading, a controversial
package of amendments to the laws 'On the Language' and 'On General
Education'. The package was to go for a second-reading discussion
and voting this fall, possibly in its modified form.
But having given up its intentions to change the Language Law and clear
it through the second-reading vote, the government still appears to
remain adamant in its position that changes and amendments must be
made in the Law 'On General Education'.
If adopted, these changes will still clear the way for opening 11
alternative schools in Armenia, two of which are planned as non-state
education institutions that will operate in the resort towns of Dilijan
and Jermuk and will teach foreign-language curricula beginning from
the seventh grade up (in the 12-year education system).
The remaining nine foreign-language schools would be set up based
on interstate and intergovernmental agreements and would teach only
beginning from the third level of secondary education, i.e. high
school.
Armenian-related subjects, such as the language, literature, history
of the Armenian people and church at such schools still must be taught
in Armenian, according to the proposed legislation.
The government initiative to amend legislation to clear the way for
foreign-language schools has been a matter of stormy debates in recent
months and even gave rise to a Facebook movement "We Are Against the
Reopening of Foreign-Language Schools".
Critics, in particular, fear that the removal of the ban on
foreign-language education reflects the desire to restore primarily
Russian-language education, which was banned in Armenia's state schools
in the early 1990s shortly after the country gained independence. By
that time, a considerable number of people in Armenia had completed
secondary education in Russian, the state language in the former
Soviet Union that was required for any successful career.
Opponents of the bill also have concerns that the statutory changes
accentuate the "inferior" nature of Armenian as compared to other
languages and fear that Armenians taught in a foreign language will
lose the ability to have "an Armenian language-mentality".
The government, meanwhile, believes a limited number of such schools
will only help raise the quality of general education in Armenia and
will also allow Armenia to borrow extensively from the experience of
foreign and international educators working in Armenia.
Strong criticism from those who oppose the initiative even prompted the
initiators of an international school in Dilijan, a project planned
for 2013, to address a letter to the Public Council of Armenia,
stating that they are "seriously considering the suspension of work
on the project" as in the current situation they "do not view it as
feasible to develop the project, as it is fundamentally incorrect to
create a school in an atmosphere that rejects it."
Dilijan project officials are likely to announce their final decision
after the next reunion of the school's Board of Trustees scheduled
for October.
Discussion of changes in the law began soon after the announcement
of a $60-million project for an international school in Dilijan, and
groundbreaking took place in April and was attended by the initiator,
Moscow-based Armenian tycoon Ruben Vardanyan, and Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan.
This led the pressure group opposed to the changes to assume that it
is this project that, in particular, triggered the whole initiative
on amending the laws.
Education and Science Minister Armen Ashotyan said during parliamentary
hearings on the subject held on Monday that if the package of
legislative changes is adopted the first school with subjects taught
in a foreign language is likely to open in Armenia as early as in
2012 or 2013.
Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan, in turn, said that the issue is
so delicate that it requires a comprehensive review.
"Our task is to preserve the national image, the language and
continuity, avoid another assimilation and risks of alienation, on
the other hand [our task is] not to limit international cooperation,
the exchange of experience in educating generations, to be flexible
in the matter of organizing education, to be capable of rapidly
responding and staying competitive," said the parliament speaker.
Abrahamyan suggested defining in the Law 'On General Education' notions
like "Alternative Education Program", "Author's Education Program",
"Experimental Education Program" and "International Education Program",
as well as to maintain the principle of limiting the establishment
and regional quotas for institutions of general education teaching
alternative educational curricula.
Members of the civil group "We Are Against the Reopening of
Foreign-Language Schools" who attended the hearings appeared
unconvinced and voiced their dissatisfaction even after this new
concession.
They said they were against opening any kind of school teaching in
a foreign language in Armenia and that no changes should be made in
the Law 'On General Education' either.
The proposed changes in the law are unlikely to come up for parliament
discussion at the coming session period pending further elaboration.
From: A. Papazian
NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow
Education | 30.09.10 | 15:17
By Siranuysh Gevorgyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
The draft law on amendments in the law on language has been temporarily
taken off the parliament agenda.
The Armenian Government is no longer pressing for changes in one of
the two laws that would pave the way for opening a limited number
of schools in Armenia teaching curricula in a language other than
Armenian.
Five months after the Government proposed the changes, it now appears
the matter will be dropped from discussion in this current seating
of the National Assembly.
The Government's initial move to amend the laws was met with strong
opposition by a considerable number of intellectuals, journalists,
politicians and various public groups who say that such changes
threatened the very core of Armenian identity.
Members of the 131-seat National Assembly of Armenia voted in June by
71 yeas to 13 nays to clear, through the first reading, a controversial
package of amendments to the laws 'On the Language' and 'On General
Education'. The package was to go for a second-reading discussion
and voting this fall, possibly in its modified form.
But having given up its intentions to change the Language Law and clear
it through the second-reading vote, the government still appears to
remain adamant in its position that changes and amendments must be
made in the Law 'On General Education'.
If adopted, these changes will still clear the way for opening 11
alternative schools in Armenia, two of which are planned as non-state
education institutions that will operate in the resort towns of Dilijan
and Jermuk and will teach foreign-language curricula beginning from
the seventh grade up (in the 12-year education system).
The remaining nine foreign-language schools would be set up based
on interstate and intergovernmental agreements and would teach only
beginning from the third level of secondary education, i.e. high
school.
Armenian-related subjects, such as the language, literature, history
of the Armenian people and church at such schools still must be taught
in Armenian, according to the proposed legislation.
The government initiative to amend legislation to clear the way for
foreign-language schools has been a matter of stormy debates in recent
months and even gave rise to a Facebook movement "We Are Against the
Reopening of Foreign-Language Schools".
Critics, in particular, fear that the removal of the ban on
foreign-language education reflects the desire to restore primarily
Russian-language education, which was banned in Armenia's state schools
in the early 1990s shortly after the country gained independence. By
that time, a considerable number of people in Armenia had completed
secondary education in Russian, the state language in the former
Soviet Union that was required for any successful career.
Opponents of the bill also have concerns that the statutory changes
accentuate the "inferior" nature of Armenian as compared to other
languages and fear that Armenians taught in a foreign language will
lose the ability to have "an Armenian language-mentality".
The government, meanwhile, believes a limited number of such schools
will only help raise the quality of general education in Armenia and
will also allow Armenia to borrow extensively from the experience of
foreign and international educators working in Armenia.
Strong criticism from those who oppose the initiative even prompted the
initiators of an international school in Dilijan, a project planned
for 2013, to address a letter to the Public Council of Armenia,
stating that they are "seriously considering the suspension of work
on the project" as in the current situation they "do not view it as
feasible to develop the project, as it is fundamentally incorrect to
create a school in an atmosphere that rejects it."
Dilijan project officials are likely to announce their final decision
after the next reunion of the school's Board of Trustees scheduled
for October.
Discussion of changes in the law began soon after the announcement
of a $60-million project for an international school in Dilijan, and
groundbreaking took place in April and was attended by the initiator,
Moscow-based Armenian tycoon Ruben Vardanyan, and Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan.
This led the pressure group opposed to the changes to assume that it
is this project that, in particular, triggered the whole initiative
on amending the laws.
Education and Science Minister Armen Ashotyan said during parliamentary
hearings on the subject held on Monday that if the package of
legislative changes is adopted the first school with subjects taught
in a foreign language is likely to open in Armenia as early as in
2012 or 2013.
Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan, in turn, said that the issue is
so delicate that it requires a comprehensive review.
"Our task is to preserve the national image, the language and
continuity, avoid another assimilation and risks of alienation, on
the other hand [our task is] not to limit international cooperation,
the exchange of experience in educating generations, to be flexible
in the matter of organizing education, to be capable of rapidly
responding and staying competitive," said the parliament speaker.
Abrahamyan suggested defining in the Law 'On General Education' notions
like "Alternative Education Program", "Author's Education Program",
"Experimental Education Program" and "International Education Program",
as well as to maintain the principle of limiting the establishment
and regional quotas for institutions of general education teaching
alternative educational curricula.
Members of the civil group "We Are Against the Reopening of
Foreign-Language Schools" who attended the hearings appeared
unconvinced and voiced their dissatisfaction even after this new
concession.
They said they were against opening any kind of school teaching in
a foreign language in Armenia and that no changes should be made in
the Law 'On General Education' either.
The proposed changes in the law are unlikely to come up for parliament
discussion at the coming session period pending further elaboration.
From: A. Papazian