A child graduating from a foreign-language school will not have gaps in his knowledge of native language, Rafael Hayrapetyan, Dean of the Journalism Department, Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University of Armenia, told NEWS.am. Armenian students will become increasingly estranged from the Armenian language due to foreign-language education system.
“Armenia has only one official language, Armenian, and primary education must be in Armenian,” Hayrapetyan said. He considers the opening of specialized schools acceptable. “We have an excellent school of mathematics at Yerevan State University, and children won prizes at international mathematics and information science competitions. Why not show a similar approach to foreign-language schools?” he asked. He pointed out that a deeper study of special subjects is more beneficial to children than changing the language of education.
Commenting of the tuition fees at the foreign-language schools, he said: “If the annual tuition fee is about U.S. $20,000, the majority of Armenia’s population cannot afford it. Those having enough money and wishing foreign-language education for their children can send them abroad,” Hayrapetyan said. He added that students must learn their native language even of they pay much less for education.
“I do not see any sense,” Hayapetyan said.
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