Center for Education Projects PIU The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports

On June 4, within the frames of the visit to Armenia, the World Bank delegation met with the PIU program staff at the Center for Education Projects. Task Team Leader Ms Shizuka Kunimoto, World Bank Consultant Anna Malkhasyan and World Bank Social Development Specialist Sonya Msryan were a part of the mission. The discussion of the activities performed within the frames of the World Bank-funded "Education Improvement Additional Financing" loan program was the focus center of the meeting. The guests were welcomed by Grisha Hovhannisyan, Acting Director of the Center for Education Project PIU.
During the meeting, he presented a comprehensive picture of the PIU activities in the context of "Education Improvement Project Additional financing" loan program and referred to the already implemented, current and planned activities within the framework of the program. Emphasizing the importance of collaborative work, he thanked the representatives of the World Bank for consistent support. The Heads of the 4 sub-components of Component 1. Enhancing the Quality of General Education and the Head of the component 2 “Mainstreaming of the Competitive Innovation Fund (CIF) for Higher Education Institutions into full implementation “ presented a comprehensive picture of the activities of the PIU in the context of the "Education Improvement Additional Financing" loan project. They pointed out the implemented, ongoing and planned works. The sides discussed a number of issues related to the implementation of micro-projects including the planned establishment of playgrounds.The Head of the sub-component 1.1, presenting the completed works, emphasized that the works of establishing pre-schools in the regions of RA are in progress, and on June 10 Grant agreements will be signed with 9 more educational institutions in Yerevan,. The sides discussed a number of issues related to the reconstruction/construction activities in high schools planned under the loan project including the strict deadlines for the rehabilitation/construction related activities.Also activities conducted towards the improvement of Education Management Information System (EMIS), and particularly the signing of the contract between CEP PIU and NACET and the contract related activities on EMIS improvement were discussed.
EIP/TTL Shizuka Konimoto was also impressed by the virtual laboratories created within the framework of the above-mentioned component, which were created within the framework of the " Education Improvement " project and today have daily applicability during the classroom processes.
They also discussed a number of issues related to the provision of natural science and engineering laboratory equipment, furniture and materials to general education schools.
The WB representative stated that they are impressed by the laboratories already operating in a number of regional schools.
"This reform will be a huge boost for young people in terms of future career opportunities in high-demand fields such as engineering, ICT, Biology, etc.," said EIP/TTL Shizuka Konimoto.
A number of issues related to the implementation of grant projects within the framework of the CIF component in the field of higher education were also discussed. Once again, the importance of the grants provided within the frames of CIF was emphasized, as they are aimed at enhancing the higher education quality, relevance, innovativeness and accessibility.
At the end of the meeting EIP/TTL Shizuka Kunimoto highly appreciated the efforts of the Center for Education Projects PIU in the context of reforms in the field of education emphasizing the impressiveness of the results.Further prospects of bilateral cooperation and other issues of interest were also discussed during the meeting.