Voluntary certification of public school teachers has come into force in Armenia since January 2021. As a result, those who prove compliance with modern requirements in the certification process can receive a pay increase of 30-50% based on the points gained. According to the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of RA, this year, around 4,000 teachers from public schools applied to participate in the voluntary attestation. We are pleased to share that seven of these teachers who have successfully passed the certification are beneficiaries of different COAF programs.
Due to voluntary attestation, four teachers from COAF’s “English Speaking Rural Schools” program and three teachers enrolled in COAF’s capacity-building initiatives of the “SMART Debet village” project have increased salaries and professional certification. All of these became possible thanks to their diligence, ability to be in an environment conducive to professional development, and the skills acquired within COAF programs.
Liana Karapetyan is one of the English teachers at Vanadzor Basic School N16 who passed the attestation. She participates in COAF’s “English Speaking Rural Schools” program, implemented with the financial support of the U.S. Embassy in Armenia. Liana was among the 10% of her school teachers who didn’t hesitate to try their hands at voluntary certification and succeeded.
“The program has helped me tremendously in achieving this milestone as we’ve been in an English-speaking environment since March 2022 — something we as teachers desperately needed. Project discussions, analysis, the exploration of new teaching methods, and exchange of experience were exactly what was required to succeed in the certification process,” notes Liana Karapetyan.
Anna Alikhanyan is another teacher from Lori’s Yeghegnut village who passed the attestation. Being a pedagogue of 15 years, she thinks she wouldn’t have the confidence and willingness to take part in the attestation this year if not for COAF’s English courses. “The language environment has been of great benefit to us. There was no need for additional work — we knew everything due to the program,” confesses Anna Alikhanyan.
Since the launch of the “SMART village” project in Debet, the COAF team has been working hand in hand with the school staff of the village to enhance and modernize their teaching skills. Along with the construction of the new school, the academic staff is getting acquainted with world-class educational procedures and taking multidisciplinary training, which makes them more confident, knowledgeable, and thirsty with the desire to learn new things and bring them to the classroom.
The dose of motivation received from the training became key to success also for Arpine Karhanyan, a teacher of Informatics in the secondary school of Debet village. Arpine advises public school teachers not to hesitate to participate in the voluntary certification. “Irrespective of which school they work at, I will advise my colleagues to work on themselves and participate in the certification, for it is definitely attainable within their abilities,” she affirms.
“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.”
– Malala Yousafzai
The role of a good teacher is invaluable in society. Due to limited resources and a bounded environment, many regional teachers are often deprived of opportunities for professional growth for many years. By opening up new advancement horizons for teachers living in remote regions of Armenia, we influence an entire generation.
