NUMBER OF CHILDREN AT NUBARASHEN SPECIAL NEEDS SCHOOL DECREASES DRASTICALLY

Tert.am
28.09.09

Developments around Nubarashen special needs school continue after
a group of young activists, most notably Mariam Sukhutyan, voiced
their concerns about serious violations taking place at the school.

As it has already been widely reported in the media, the Armenian
language teacher sexually harrassed the children. As if that
wasn’t enough, young activists working at the school revealed a
number of other violations, too: particularly, poor food, the bad
sanitary-hygienic conditions, the approach of using physical forms
of punishment, and the fact that children who do not have special
needs study in a school for those with special needs.

"We received a letter from the Ministry of Education and Science
stating that they sent four [of the] children to other schools," said
Mariam Sukhutyan to Tert.am, referring to the recent developments in
the school.

Sukhutyan mentioned that the number of children leaving the school is
in fact greater; as it was told to them by the Head of Public Education
Supervision Department of the Ministry of Education and Science Nurijan
Manukyan, the number of children studying in the school has reduced
from 107 to 67. In one of the interviews, according to Sukhutyan,
the ministry and Nurijan Manukian both accepted that there had been
incidents of physical assault at Nubarashen school and that children
who do not have special needs study there. "They accepted the physical
assault and that healthy children study there, all that remains is
[that they accept the] sexual assault," said the activist, with some
sense of release.

As for the action brought against Sukhutyan, accusing her
of intentional false betrayal, well, that process is not quite
‘developing.’ Sukhutyan said no one is interrogating her and no one is
calling her to the police station, though the police are interrogating
people involved in the case.