In schools under the jurisdiction of Yerevan Municipality, cleanliness is organized in various ways. In many schools, students are responsible for classroom cleanliness, while in others, janitors handle it. It should be noted that there is no unified answer to this question.

Iravaban.net spoke with the principals of several schools under the municipality’s jurisdiction to find out how school cleanliness is maintained, what differences exist between schools’ approaches, and what regulations they follow.

Melsida Rubenyan, the principal of Nar-Dos Basic School No. 14, told us in an interview: “Students clean up after themselves in the classroom, but wet cleaning is done by janitors. Students pick up what they’ve dropped on the floor as a form of education, while janitors clean afterwards to prevent students from getting dusty. Students only pick up candy wrappers or cookie crumbs they’ve dropped during class, so they learn to keep their surroundings clean.”

According to the principal, students collect classroom trash and place it in the hallway, which janitors collect at the end of the day. In other rooms, including the gym, janitors are responsible for cleaning.

Basic School No. 168 named after Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen I reported that they are consistent in school cleanliness matters. Janitors clean classrooms, while in upper grades, duty rosters are organized: “If children are young, they can’t clean, so classrooms are divided among the cleaners. Older students organize their duty roster with their homeroom teacher and clean.”

Siranush Vardanyan, principal of Hakob Karapents Basic School No. 6, said that in upper grades, students are responsible for cleaning, while in elementary grades, only janitors clean.

“Our school is completely new. I’ve applied to the municipality requesting one additional janitor position for the school, as the area has significantly increased. We only have 5 janitors, and as a newly renovated school, we have quite a lot of bathrooms, making it difficult to keep everything clean. I think with the new staffing, we should be allocated one more janitor because the gym is also very large, and there are many bathrooms.”

When asked if there have been cases where students were forced to clean classrooms or if any problems arose, the principal replied that there have never been issues. A duty roster is assigned, everyone knows who should stay after classes on a given day to clean the classroom, and after renovation, it’s now easier to do.

Anush Hambardzumyan, principal of Mikhail Nalbandyan Basic School No. 33, responded to our inquiry by stating that the school has 3 janitors. The building has 2 wings: the first is administrative but also has classrooms, while the second wing is 3 stories high. Work is divided among these 3 janitors by floors. The principal reported that students do not perform duty in the school.

“They come to work, plan their work from the morning, clean, and after classes, they clean the classrooms. During classes, students are obligated to keep their surroundings clean. Occasionally, we organize Saturday cleanups so that it becomes ingrained in their psychology that they should keep their surroundings clean,” said the principal.

Anichka Iskandaryan, principal of Vahan Teryan Basic School No. 60, said that no duty is organized after classes in the school: “According to the municipality’s instructions and the ministry’s decision, there is a special procedure for cleaning areas. A government decision specifies how many janitors are allocated per area. We have distributed the areas according to this decision, and currently, we have our janitors, even a gardener because there’s a small area in front of the school yard, and we have a yard keeper who cleans the area in front of the school. Everyone performs their work according to their positions.”

She notes that duty has never been established in the school; janitors have always been responsible for cleaning. The division of areas includes classrooms, corridors, bathrooms, and other sections inside the school.

Iravaban.net has submitted inquiries to the Yerevan Municipality and the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport to clarify the following questions:

1. What legal act regulates the issue of cleaning in schools?
2. Why isn’t there a unified approach for all schools?
3. Is there a defined job description for janitors specifying which parts of the school they are entrusted to clean?
4. Moreover, can the school require students to stay after classes, perform duty, and ensure classroom cleanliness?

In response to Iravaban.net‘s inquiry, the Yerevan Municipality stated that according to Appendix 1 of the RA Government Decision No. 216-N of 2023, the job description for a janitor in a general education institution is defined, which assigns the following work functions to the janitor:

1. Prepares various types of cleaning and disinfecting solutions in accordance with sanitary-hygienic requirements and safety rules for use in the Institution as needed,
2. Cleans corridors, stairs, bathrooms, sanitary equipment, windows, walls, ceilings, doors, and furniture using equipment or by hand,
3. Performs garbage collection, cleaning, and disinfection of garbage bins in corridors,
4. Receives cleaning supplies, equipment, and materials,
5. Maintains sanitation and hygiene rules in common areas of the institution.

According to the Order N79-N of the RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport dated December 7, 2022, the coefficients and standards for financing general education institutions from the state budget are defined. According to these, for the maintenance, care, and household services of buildings (structures) and adjacent areas in the institution, 1 staff unit is allocated for a janitor to clean up to 600 square meters of building area, but not more than the quotient of the average annual number of classrooms and the number 5.

Student involvement in classroom cleaning tasks can be defined by the internal disciplinary rules of each educational institution. At the same time, according to subparagraph 4 of paragraph 41 of the model charter of the student council approved by the 2011 order of the RA Minister of Education and Science, the student council contributes to maintaining the sanitary-hygienic conditions of the school.

The municipality also informed that each general education school is entitled to develop and approve the internal disciplinary rules of the given institution, including the rules of conduct for employees and students, therefore different approaches are possible.

In response to our inquiry, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport informed that according to the minister’s 2022 order, for the maintenance, care, and household services of buildings (structures) and adjacent areas in general education institutions, the following janitor positions are allocated:

1 staff unit for cleaning up to 600 square meters of building area, but not more than the quotient of the average annual number of classrooms and the number 5 (except for special and specialized schools with boarding students), 1 staff unit for cleaning up to 600 square meters of building area (in the case of special and specialized schools with boarding students), An additional 1 staff unit for cleaning up to 2000 square meters of yard area, but not more than 2 staff units.

Regarding the work functions of janitors, it is regulated by the RA Government Decision N216-N dated February 16, 2023, “On Defining the List of Positions and Their Descriptions for Pedagogical and Administrative-Economic Workers of General Education Institutions and Territorial Pedagogical-Psychological Support Centers.”

At the same time, they informed that although the implementation of classroom cleaning by students is not a mandatory condition, it is an important component of education that contributes to the formation of neatness, diligence, and respect for surrounding individuals in the child.

Mariam Shahnazaryan