2022 February 24

Daily news wrap-up

News - Feb/24/2022: Expert explains the education reform packages __ Army cleanup continues; Department heads sacked __ Ukraine vs Russia; Economic impact; Armenians in Ukraine __ Drone labs in schools __ Trade volumes __ Need experienced construction firms __ $7.7m infra. projects __ +++
by ar_david_hh

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This is your 11-minute Thursday digest in 2775 words.

markets react to Russian invasion of Ukraine

Moscow's stock exchange halted trading.

Ruble 79 -> 90 against the dollar overnight. There was no immediate impact on Armenian dram as of writing this.

Gas prices in European markets +35%, to $1,400 per m^3. Europe has suspended the process to certify the new North Stream 2 Russian gas pipeline.

Cryptocurrencies and stock markets are down. Gold and wheat prices are up.

... local population

Lines began to form in front of ATMs and grocery stores in Ukraine. One elderly lady bought several bread loaves "just in case". People lined up to fuel their vehicles to leave large cities.

... it's just business, y u mad?

India expressed "deep concerns" over the situation but didn't condemn it. Russia hopes the S-400 missile systems will be delivered to India on schedule in spite of sanctions.

Pakistani Premier visited Moscow to discuss the construction of a new gas pipeline.

... condolences

Ukraine asked Turkey for help and to close Russian ships' access to the Black Sea. Turkey condemned the invasion and prepared a large shipment of "deep concerns and condolences" as of writing this. The West promised further sanctions on Russia after sanctioning several Russian officials earlier this week.

... Lukashenko

Alexander Lukashenko is still around. He wants you to know that Belarus will do anything for Russia, including recognizing DNR and LNR at the expense of diplomatic relations with Ukraine. Russian troops used Belarus to invade Ukraine from the north. They took control of the Chernobyl explosion site.

... diplomacy

Europe: Russia will be sanctioned.

Russia: EU is bad. Nobody gave the EU the exclusive right to settle conflicts in Europe. We don't care about sanctions.

Putin: I had to do it. I wasn't given a choice.

Zelensky: Pls disconnect Russia from SWIFT and help us stop them. We didn't choose war, but we offer to return to peace.

UEFA soccer body: We will strip St. Petersburg of the May 28 Champions League final.

... Armenians in Ukraine

The Armenian embassy in Kyiv is in touch with the Armenian community.

In breakaway Donetsk, the Armenian community had prepared a plan and vehicles to evacuate residents if necessary, said a local activist Marat Hakobyan. Some residents have left but most have decided to shelter in their homes. The ATM machines are usually empty.

According to Hakobyan, the 50,000 Armenian community of Donetsk is the largest after Kyiv, Odessa, and Kharkiv. No injuries as of writing this.

150 Armenians live in Lysychansk (Luhansk), which isn't far from the LoC. They reported hearing sounds of explosions. They formed groups to defend local businesses from possible looting.

Zaporizhzhia region is west of the Donetsk region. 10,000 Armenians live there. Battles took place near its Mariupol and other cities. No injuries after several bombs fell on bazaars and shops. Armenians are using group chats on Viber to share bomb shelter locations.

... Armenians in Armenia

A group of EU supporters gathered in front of the Russian embassy in Yerevan to protest the invasion.

Armenian public figures met to discuss the conflict and express their opinion about the stance that Armenia should officially adopt. No consensus: stay quiet to avoid trouble, recognize DNR and LRN "to benefit Artsakh", condemn Russia and choose the European path.

... Russians in Russia

Anti-war protests were organized in several cities. Dozens were arrested in Moscow. No justification, don't use us as toy soldiers, read one sign.

... Western countries announce sanctions against Russia

The U.S. will target $1.4 trillion in Russian assets. "We will limit Russia’s ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds, and yen." The US will send more troops to Germany. Russian state-owned VTB bank will be sanctioned.

Joe Biden also said he won't speak with Putin anymore, and that the latter will be rejected in the international arena.

The UK sanctioned VTB Bank and froze its assets. Russian Aeroflot airlines won't be allowed to fly to the UK anymore. The UK will prohibit the export of high-tech products to Russia to impede its "long-term development". Hundreds of Russian figures and companies were sanctioned. Russian companies can't raise funds in the UK and might not be able to use the London Stock Exchange. Russian oligarchs will no longer be able to hide in London, said Boris Johnson.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/02/24/world/russia-ukraine-putin https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076352.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076355.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076365.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076376.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076379.html https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1076380.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076387.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076387.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076390.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076397.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076420.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076450.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076446.html https://factor.am/479920.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/24/sports/soccer/uefa-will-strip-st-petersburg-of-champions-league-final.html https://factor.am/479478.html https://factor.am/479771.html https://factor.am/479927.html https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/231850 https://factor.am/479969.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/biden-vows-wider-sanctions-on-russia-in-effort-to-cut-moscow-off-from-the-global-economy.html https://factor.am/479986.html

prominent LGBT journalist is beheaded in Azerbaijan

Avaz Hafizli was stabbed to death and dismembered, according to his cousin. The murderer was caught and claimed he was drunk when he got into a dispute with the victim.

Last year Hafizli chained himself in front of the Prosecutor General's office to protest the government's inaction against homophobic incitement by a popular local Instagrammer.

https://oc-media.org/prominent-queer-azerbaijani-journalist-brutally-murdered/

army cleanup continues

Army chief Artak Davtyan is fired amid a corruption investigation

CoGS Davtyan, ex-MOD Davit Tonoyan, and several other military figures were recently accused of abusing their power, embezzlement, and purchasing wrong weapons. The first trial was held on [January 19](https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/s809v3/jan192022_armenian_firms_working_on_combat/). Today the acting president Simonyan signed the decree to fire CoGS Davtyan.

... several other ranking army officials have been fired

The heads of the following departments: artillery & missile (Armen Harutyunyan), moral support (Arthur Poghosyan), training (Andranik Makaryan), engineering (Armen Arushanyan). It's unclear if they are among the 9 ranking officials implicated in the corruption scandal.

New department heads were appointed the same day. Additionally, two deputy commanders were appointed in Special Corps.

Armen Gyozalyan, relatively a young guy (45), was appointed as deputy CoGS.

... ruling party MP spoke about the firing of CoGS Artak Davtyan

QP Melkonyan: 1) It had to happen. The CoGS can't properly control the forces while there is a criminal trial against him. 2) The new MOD Papikyan and the army command must be able to work synchronously. In 2008 the army was split into two "teams" between MOD and CoGS.

[Sidenote: During one of the recent parliamentary meetings we learned that, after being appointed as MOD late last year, Papikyan reviewed the planned army reforms package and found it insufficient, so they began amending it, hence the "delay". It's reportedly scheduled to enter Parliament in June 2022.]

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076393.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1073387.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076408.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076418.html https://factor.am/479794.html www.1lurer.am/hy/2022/02/24/Արմեն-Գյոզալյանը-նշանակվել-է-ՀՀ-ԶՈՒ-ԳՇ-պետի-տեղակալ/669201

army special forces held training exercises on Thursday.

Infiltration, extraction of documents, and evacuation of wounded soldiers.

https://factor.am/479755.html

VIDEO: drone exploration labs open in more schools across Armenia

School No. 26 in Gyumri has one of those engineering labs now, as part of the Armath in Air program. The students will study, create, and fly them. They'll start with easy models and gradually upgrade the complexity.

There will be similar labs in 65 schools in provinces and Artsakh. Thousands of high schoolers will join the army with UAV skills, said the program director.

https://youtu.be/w5RvKYDPHno

www.1lurer.am/hy/2022/02/24/ԱԹՍ-ներ-ստեղծելու-և-կառավարելու-մասնագիտացումը՝-դպրոցից/669495

Armenian Defense Minister visited Moscow

Papikyan met Shoygu and other military officials on Thursday.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076357.html

Armenian and Turkish special envoys met the second time in a bid to normalize relations

Rubinyan and Kılıç met in Vienna today. The parties reaffirmed their commitment to proceed without preconditions.

The Vienna meeting was publicly announced [a month ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/sjujj4/feb32022_deal_reached_for_60m_ski_resort_track/). A prominent reporter at ArmNews claimed that the meeting was kept secret from the Armenian public. The misinformation was reprinted by media outlets run by Robert Kocharyan's allies.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076405.html https://www.panarmenian.net/arm/news/298683/ https://fip.am/18313

EuroNest co-chair Kubilius: If Azerbaijan is sincere about regional stability, it should resolve the POW issue immediately

Andrius Kubilius: Thanks for the hospitality in Yerevan. This was the first in-person Euronest meeting in 2 years. We discussed reports on energy, security, South Caucasus, Russian aggression against Ukraine, and Green Deal. [Praises the tripartite meeting with Charles Michel and the efforts to normalize AM-TR relation.]

Armenia and Europe need better people-to-people relations and more frequent official visits, besides formally signing the AM-EU CEPA agreement. //

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1076401.html

Armenia and France marked the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations

Pashinyan sent a congratulatory message to Macron:

>... dear Emmanuel,

>February 24th, 1992 is a memorable year for Armenia and France. 30 years ago this day Armenia, which opened the page of its new history with the declaration of independence, established diplomatic relations with the French Republic.

Full: https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076377.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076434.html

Armenia-Russia trade has been growing

Armenian and Russian businesses and officials attended a forum in Yerevan today. They discussed the benefits of the EAEU trade bloc.

Deputy Economy Minister: In 2019 the trade reached $2B for the first time. In 2021 it was already $2.6B. We need to form companies that assist the small and medium exporters. //

They spoke about exporting Armenian basalt fiber to Russia. It's used in machinery and construction. ArmBasalt representative said Armenia has one of the best quality products in the world, "recognized in Russia, EU, and even the US."

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076416.html

Pashinyan attended an EAEU meeting in Kazakhstan

The members discussed topics relating to industry, customs, IT systems, e-trade, and transportation.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076417.html

Armenian "FlyOne" airline launches regular flights to Moscow

The first landing is scheduled in Vnukovo airport on March 1.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076392.html

gov't invited ambassadors of several states to inform them about the planned Sisian-Kajaran road in North-South

This road in Syunik will be 60 km long and come with 27 bridges and 9 tunnels. Infrastructure Minister Sanosyan informed the ambassadors about the successful launch of the tender qualification process. It's a 70-day tender to decide which companies can participate in the final tender.

Sanosyan: This is a very important road strategically, economically, and in terms of security. It's complicated, interesting, and will travel through difficult terrains. Please inform large construction companies in your home state. We need an experienced company to build a quality road within the schedule. //

Netherlands ambassador: It was an impressive demo film. This will be a difficult road to build. We're interested in learning how we can assist Armenia with the project. //

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/yzF7YuVWBCY

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076367.html

gov't is financing $7.7 million infrastructure projects in Martuni (Gegharkunik)

Garegin Nzhdeh St. will be finally asphalted - undoubtedly the most patriotic sh$t you've read all week. It's one of about a dozen streets that will be asphalted soon; they'll have new sidewalk plates and street lighting.

Several villages will have new irrigation networks and gas pipes.

Heating will be installed in 4 kindergartens. The town hall and several cultural centers will be renovated.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076382.html

Armenian tech firm rebrands, becomes a "venture builder"

Gorksmith (formerly Hex Division) is an Armenian tech firm that helps create businesses. They hold regular meetings with industry experts to share experiences.

Co-founder Kuloghlyan: My friend and I started this as a consulting firm for startups. At one point we began to create startups. They need results quickly to justify further investments. A startup is a person who jumps off the cliff; he has to get the wings operational before reaching the ground. We help with the wings.

Full: https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076414.html

police caught the idiot who stole a donation box from a church

A few months ago unidentified individuals broke into Yeghvard's St. Astvatsatsin church and stole the donations box. A few days ago someone tipped off the police that the perps were 17yo and 21yo local residents.

One of them was caught. He confessed and handed over the crime weapon.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076451.html

PHOTO: Armenian man scores a Guinness world record by pulling a 33-ton metro train in Yerevan

The power went out so Metro asked the professional gym-chad Yuri Sakunts to help evacuate the stranded passengers from a tunnel. /s

https://factor.am/479833.html

COVID stats

4467 tested. 764 infected. 970 healed. 14 deaths.

Greece donated 35,000 Moderna shots to Armenia

... as part of the Team Europe program in which countries assist each other if they have extra supplies.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076364.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076421.html

education expert explains what's in the reform packages

[January 25 report](https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/scob30/jan252022_major_education_reforms_to_address_the/) has details presented by Education Ministry itself.

AYB Foundation's Aram Phakhchanyan: I'll mention the notable changes. Global research shows that the quality of education heavily depends on 3 things:

1) Minimal environment with desks, heating, lighting, etc. Sadly, Armenia lacks even in this area.

2) Teacher's knowledge, qualifications, and teaching style.

3) Management. School directors. Their development plan.

First. For the school to have permission to operate, it must provide a minimal physical environment. In Armenia, this requirement has been ignored all these years. The schools operated in terrible conditions. The state was breaking its own laws. I hope this will change soon but it won't be easy because it requires large capital investments. When you don't invest small sums every year on upkeep, you end up needing to spend more when the problem deepens.

These education reforms are mainly about 2nd and 3rd points, which are important for our future.

Second. Teacher's qualification process has always been a formality. For years, perhaps since the start of this process, there hasn't been a single teacher who hasn't received a certificate. The reforms are meant to change that.

Teachers' "category" has long been tied to the number of years they've been employed in the system. There is, of course, some logic in it. The reforms will tie the teacher's category directly to their professional qualifications. If the teacher is good, they will receive a higher category and a higher wage.

We have a teacher shortage. After reforms, if the vacant position isn't filled after a certain period, the director will be allowed to hire someone who doesn't meet all the requirements as long as the hiree simultaneously takes steps to get the necessary "credits" while teaching. This will help address the shortage in Armenia; the numbers have been dwindling over the years, making it difficult to find STEM teachers.

The reforms will redefine what "inclusivity" and "special" mean. There are many changes here. The one I'd like to mention is that gifted children will become part of this category. The schools will be required to ensure proper education for the gifted. If the child learns faster than others, it cannot be ignored.

Teachers aren't as qualified in provinces because of low wages. This leads to worse education quality for provincial kids. The reforms will change the financial model to ensure fair wages in provinces.

Third. Under old rules, no requirement for candidates to provide a comprehensive school development vision before being appointed as directors. This is required under new rules. The director's attestation in the future will depend on whether they were able to implement their development plan.

One problem I see is that the director will be appointed only by the Education Ministry, while the School Council will be allowed to only fire the director. This isn't "undemocratic", it's used in many states, but there is a risk that this could dishearten the School Council and make them disengaged from day-to-day tasks.

The director's task will no longer include administrative duties. Directors will focus on education quality. The administrative duties such as painting the walls, renovating the backyard, heating, etc. will be handled by a special assignee. One assignee can manage administrative tasks in multiple small schools. One concern I have is that it could cause management conflict, so the law must clarify who the "real boss" is in the school.

Risks while implementing the reforms. Our current education system is not ready for sudden major changes. That doesn't mean we can't work with experts at all levels to prepare the system, but it's a difficult task. At the moment, the government is going with the reforms too fast with bills in Parliament, Education Ministry decrees, etc. My concern is if it's done too fast, the person who works in the system, being unable to keep up, could reflexively opt to resist the changes. [Is this the first time someone accuses the government of working "too fast"?]

But you can't always "prepare" people, either, and sometimes it's necessary to move forward. There is a golden mean, and our education policymakers should find it so the employees will feel like participants of the change.

Last but not least, any reform requires time to finish. This will take longer than the government's 5-year program. If a new political party comes to power, they must settle with the changes and not review it or start from scratch. //

www.civilnet.am/news/651334/հանրակրթության-մասին-օրենքը-փոխվում-է․-ի՞նչ-սպասել/

Tags: #EducationReforms

today in history

1932: French-Armenian composer Michel Legrand is born.

1942: Voice of America radio is aired.

1955: Armenian-American businessman Steve jobs is born. (don't argue, he is)

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1076340.html

more

The news in русский (by Impossible-Ad-).

News archive: http://www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/Daily_Anti-Corruption_Reports Donations: soldiers' families, humanitarian aid, US tax-deductible donation.

The accused are innocent unless proven guilty in the court of law, even if they "appear" guilty.

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Link to original report and comments: https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/t0lujb/news_feb242022_expert_explains_the_education/