Iravaban.net received a report from a parent of a pupil who studies at Yerevan Basic School #122 after Alexander Blok. The parent presented the problem that the Director of the school does not allow the cleaners to clean the classrooms, arguing that they should clean only the yard and the corridors of the school.

In a conversation with us, the whistleblower said that the opening of the school was on 1 November, 2023. In the past, there was a conflict with the Director of the school regarding the students’ clothes, particularly the wearing of vests, because the children were forced to wear the vests sewn by a tailor, a friend of the director, and which cost 7,000 drams. According to the parent, they had chosen another tailor who do the same work for 2500 drams. The management said that all the children should wear the same clothes at the opening of the school.

“We passed that stage; they secretly sewed and distributed vests. We informed the Ministry, after that the problem seems to have been solved,” our interlocutor said.

She mentioned that last week the parents were told that they should collect 2000 drams and call a cleaner twice a week to come and clean the classroom. In response to a parent’s question as to why the school does not provide a cleaning lady, other parents answered that the principal forbade the cleaning ladies to enter the classroom, they should only clean the inside of the school, the corridors and the yard. “Some parents cleaned the classrooms last week; but I am a working parent and I cannot go and clean every time. In the end, it was decided to collect money for the cleaner to come and clean. It doesn’t matter whether it’s elementary class or higher class. There is the same problem.”

The whistleblower mentioned that they collected 1500 drams for the week and gave it to the cleaner.

To our question, whether fundraising for other events and occasions takes place in the school or not, she answered: “Recently we gave the teacher a gift card, she returned it to us, did not accept the gift and repeatedly warned us not to give any gifts, she will not accept it.”.

Fundraising takes place only on the occasion of holidays; they did not collect money for other purposes.

Iravaban.net also spoke with Ms Karine Mkhitaryan, the Director of Yerevan Basic School #122 after Alexander Blok, who immediately answered the call and gave clarifications. The director informed that no such thing existed at school, the school has three cleaners, and of course it is too little. The school should have six cleaners but at the moment they have only three. They are trying to find and hire cleaners. “If the parent was told something like that on my behalf, let that parent come and talk to me. There is no such thing.”

Regarding the question of paying extra money to the cleaner, she again mentioned that such a thing does not exist in the school, there is no fundraising at all. Regarding sewing vests for the pupils, the director said, “The process was finished a long time ago, it was the parents’ wish, they didn’t force them, if the parents decide that they want it they go and do it. It doesn’t mean that the director told to do so.”

“We do not provide clothes to anyone, only school uniform. The Management Board had decided this. But when we saw that the parents were complaining, we stopped the process. There were parents, who wanted to do it, we said: if you want you can go and order the vests, but we did not direct them,” Mkhitaryan said.

Regarding fundraisings, she mentioned that if the parents decide to give a gift to someone, what fault is has the school? She added that the school does not direct, does not demand any money, let the parents “no collect and not bring”.

“On the contrary, it is strictly forbidden, and I always say about it many times during the meeting with the parents, that such things are forbidden in our country. Recently, I had a meeting with the parents of the graduating class students, and I told them that any fundraising is prohibited. Even a bell, if you do not want your children to have one, then do not do it.”

“Let the parent come to me, maybe she was given wrong information. As for the cleaners, let me mention again that at the moment we have 3 cleaners, which is very little, priority is given to bathrooms, corridors, classrooms, as much as a person can manage,” she summarized.

Mariam Shahnazaryan