The square writes:
Almost 6 years after the 44-day war, no peace treaty has been signed with Azerbaijan. Even if it was signed, without powerful international guarantors or without establishment of military balance, there will be no fair and lasting peace with Azerbaijan - everyone understands this. However, Nikol Pashinyan's government, ignoring this reality, stubbornly declares that peace has already been established. In that logic, the mandatory military service period was changed from 2 years to 1.5 years, reducing the size of the army. The government is fighting against "revanchism": posters with photos of fallen freedom fighters are removed from public schools, halls of fame, and graffiti pictures of fallen heroes are erased from pedestrian crossings. In addition to that, "History of Armenians" was replaced by "History of Armenia" in the school curriculum, the symbol of Mount Ararat was abandoned, etc.
Now it's the turn of the "Preliminary Military Training" subject taught in public schools, which is cunningly removed from the school curriculum by changing its name. Araxia Svajyan, the deputy minister of KGSMS, sent a circular to the deputy mayor of Yerevan, to the chief secretaries of the staffs of the marzes, informing.
"I inform you that due to the changes made in the state standard of general education in 2026, the teaching approaches of subjects included in the field of "Physical education and safe living activities" were also changed, according to which the subject "Preliminary military training" was replaced by the subject "Safe living activities", and the group "Healthy lifestyle" was included in the list of mandatory taught subjects. The replacement of the subject "Preliminary military training" with the subject "Safe life activity" and its content revision are aimed at making the subject area more comprehensive, as well as at developing students' practical abilities and skills. As a result of the changes, the subjects "Safe living" and "Healthy lifestyle" will be introduced in educational institutions in a phased manner, from the 5th to the 11th grades.
The implementation of the mentioned subjects will start in 2026. from September, including only the 5th and 10th grades in the first phase. In the other classes, the teaching of the "Preliminary Military Training" subject will continue, and the "Healthy Lifestyle" group will be taught as a mandatory group until the phased implementation is complete. I would also like to inform you that the subject "Safe Living" will be taught by the wardens of the educational institutions, whose official duties and descriptions have undergone corresponding changes, according to the decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia N 216 N of 2023. According to the mentioned regulation, the commander of the educational institution is considered to be the chief of staff and a teacher of the subject "Safe living".
Before the start of the new academic year, trainings will be organized for the teachers of the subject "Safe living activities", the information on the schedule of which will be provided in addition." The deputy minister of the Ministry of Education and Culture asked the deputy mayor of Yerevan and the chief secretaries of the governors' staffs to give instructions to the relevant units to provide this circular to the educational institutions within 1 day, and these institutions to the military leaders within 1 day. This circular It caused anxiety among the teachers of public schools of Tavush region. The withdrawal of the "Preliminary military training" subject from the list of taught subjects begins, which is being done gradually. And there is no textbook for "Safe Living" subject. This subject is about observing safety rules when dealing with electricity, natural gas, as well as personal behavior during disasters.
The military leaders of the schools also manage the files of military registration documents of boys aged 15-17, which they hand over to the regional military commissariats. Zinghek do not know whether they will continue to prepare these documents, whether they will continue to be paid for it or not. The salary of the guards of border schools in Tavush is about 130 thousand drams, which includes the full rate of the guards, plus about 40 thousand drams for civil protection. Zinhek are afraid that their small salaries will decrease significantly.
