Pashinyan orders dismissal of four school principals for letting teachers and students attend Civil Contract rally
Four school principals from Armenia’s Aragatsotn province have submitted resignation letters after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ‘instructed’ them to do so. The resignations came after election observers reported that they had allowed students and teachers to attend a Civil Contract rally during working hours.
In its extensive report, Akanates noted that its observers recorded on-site that principals and teachers from several schools in Aparan and nearby settlements participated in Civil Contract’s campaign during working hours.
‘Of particular concern is that, under direct instructions from school administrations and teaching staff, students were taken out of classes in order to welcome the Prime Minister and ensure participation in the campaign event’, the reports said.
The students were also reportedly provided with ‘mandatory instructions in advance regarding their appearance, clothing, and even hairstyles, being urged to wear braids’.
In some cases, observers ‘personally witnessed’ how the school principals and teachers, via phone calls, issued ‘loud and strict instructions' demanding that children’s participation be ensured in ‘a mandatory and organised manner’.
In the village of Tsaghkashen, the students were also ‘given T-shirts bearing symbols associated with the ruling Civil Contract party and its political messaging’, the group said.
According to the group, one person named Edgar ‘actively coordinated’ the movement, ‘personally welcomed the children, distributed campaign-style flags, and gave clear instructions on where attendees should be positioned during the event’.
Armenian law prohibits political activity or campaigning in educational institutions, the observers stated, who further cited the Electoral Code that prohibits the ‘organisation and conduct of pre-election campaigning by employees of educational institutions while performing their duties or acting in an official capacity’.
Aside from the school, the mission also recorded the ‘organised presence’ of employees from the Gntuniq supermarket in Aparan at the campaign.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
In a press briefing on Thursday, Pashinyan stated that the principals of the four schools involved had submitted their resignations ‘under his instructions’. He said their resignations would not be accepted until the conclusion of a formal investigation into the matter.
‘So that it does not appear that we are acting emotionally or unfairly toward anyone, we will carry out a service investigation, and where unlawful instructions were given, there will definitely be accountability’, Pashinyan said.
He further stated that the use of administrative resources to force people to attend any gathering ‘cannot remain without consequences’.
Earlier on Wednesday, Armenia’s Education Ministry announced it launched an internal investigation into the incident, adding that they forward all their reports to law enforcement agencies. It emphasised the importance of maintaining the depoliticised functioning of educational institutions.
Separately, the Central Election Commission stressed the illegality of using administrative resources for the purpose of pre-election campaigning.
