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In 2023, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport designs to carry out 183 measures of 20 programmes: the budget will be about 248.6 billion AMD, which is more than about 21.8 AMD compared with 2022. On July 26, the RA Deputy Minister of Finance Armen Hayrapetyan informed about this during the discussion of the preliminary budgetary programmes and financial allocations for 2023 of the RA NA Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Diaspora, Youth and Sport.

The RA Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Ara Khzmalyan presented the mid-term expenditure programme of the spheres of science, education, culture and sport and the draft budget for 2023. “Being directed by the priorities of 2021-2026 programme, in the coordination spheres of the Ministry it is designed to carry out a number of new initiatives besides the measures providing general and regular activities – wide-scale measures aimed at the improvement of the infrastructures,” the Deputy Minister noted, then presented the programmes to be implemented sphere by sphere.

In particular, in the coming year compared with this year increase of about 12 billion AMD of expenditures is designed in the general education sphere, which will be addressed to additional payment of 30.000 AMD of more than 8.000 teachers, except mathematics, of state general educational all educational institutions.

According to Arayik Khzmalyan, the repair and construction of the pre-school and school educational buildings will continue, including also the schools of rural small number students. “In general, it is envisaged to reach the gross enrollment for 3-5 year-old children in the pre-school institutions from 61.3% to 85% in 2025,” he said.

The Chairman of the Public Broadcaster Council Ara Shirinyan presented the budgetary programme and measures to be implemented in 2023 by the Council. In particular, 7 billion 683 million 978 thousand AMD is designed to allocate in the coming year for the radio and TV programme broadcasting, which is 49 million AMD more compared with 2022. 174 million 52.000 AMD will be allocated for the management, coordination and monitoring of the Public Broadcaster Council.

The Deputy Chief of Staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Yerem Simonyan noted that 698 million AMD is designed to allocate for the implementation of the programmes Armenia-Diaspora Partnership and Bringing Armenian professional potential in the development process of the Republic of Armenia. “In 2023, two-week Step Towards Home educational-cognitive program is designed – 400 Diaspora Armenian teenagers and young people involved, but 955 bids were accepted, and that is why we propose to make 400 to 600,” he said.

The speakers also answered the deputies’ questions.