SALARY OF ARMENIAN TEACHERS AND SCIENTISTS TO RISE IN 2007

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 7 2006

The draft budget for 2007 envisages 9.6 billion AMD for the education
sphere, i.e. by 12.5% more than in the previous year, Pavel Safaryan,
Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy, said at hearings on the draft
budget, Tuesday.

He said 1.7 billion AMD are allocated to the sphere of general
education. Salary of teachers will rise from 58,000 to 76,000 AMD in
2007. 152 million drams will be spent on retraining of teachers of
secondary education schools, 500 million AMD for purchase of school
furniture, 14.5 million – for capital repair of schools. 813 million
AMD will be directed to the special education sphere, 400 million
to the secondary special education. Another 324 million AMD will
be spent on post-graduate education. The deputy minister said 365
secondary special education schools currently operate in Armenia,
and the number of students will rise to 45,000 in 2007.

Five billion drams will be allocated to the sphere of science, which
is by 10% more than in 2006. The basic salary of scientists will rise
to 50,000 AMD, that of the operating personnel to 25,000 AMD. 1.3
billion AMD will be allocated for topical financing of science and
73 billion AMD for target program financing. These funds will be used
to develop scientific programs in the defense sphere.