Russia may establish control system in Armenia to check education quality

The Armenian education system needs instruments to rate the quality of
education being provided, the Armenian Minister of Education and
Science Armen Ashotyan said at a consultative meeting with Russian
experts in Yerevan, News Armenia reports.

The meeting was aimed at improving professional ties between education
specialists of Armenia and Russia, discussing joint activities of the
center of international cooperation for development of education of
the Academy of People’s Economy at the Russian government.

The center plans to realize the project of 2010-2012 to rate the level
of information and communication skills of 14-15 year-old pupils and
create a system to control education quality.

Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Education Victor Bolotov
noted that without having real information it is impossible to rate
educational quality and said that the results of national exams are
not enough to ensure an efficient rating. He pointed out the
importance of statistical research.

An analyst of the Moscow office of the World Bank, Tigran Shmis,
presented the Russian Education Aid Development (READ) program, which
will develop the instruments to rate pupils’ skills.

Shmis said that education is especially valued by low-income families.
The consultative meeting is being held on September 23-24 in Yerevan,
with the support of the World Bank. It was organized by the Armenian
Ministry of Science and Education and the center for international
cooperation for the development of education at the Academy of
People’s Economy of the Russian government.