President Serzh Sargsyan has issued the following statement on the occasion of Knowledge and Schooling Day:

Dear schoolchildren and students, teachers and parents,

I cordially congratulate you on the occasion of the September 1 – Knowledge Day.

Once it was important to propagate the importance of knowledge; however, in the 21st century there is no doubt about that. Knowledge has become the most powerful weapon and tool in the world for every individual and society at large. In Armenia, we are highly aware of that. We all see the readiness and dedication, which parents put in to provide their children with good education.

We are improving our educational system consistently. We do realize that we have issues at schools and higher education institutions which need to be fixed. These issues have mainly to do with the level of education, which cannot satisfy us. We are not content just because perfection has no limits but also since in the contemporary world the pace of development has increased dramatically. We have to keep up with the world. We have to accelerate the development of education.

We also must make good education affordable for all. No teenager should lose the opportunity to receive good education only because he or she cannot pay for it.

Judging from the results demonstrated by our schoolchildren at the international competitions, our schools are not doing badly. Our school is competitive; however, we cannot be complacent, and it is necessary to raise the bar of our requirements every year, otherwise, we will be lagging behind the developing world.

I once again congratulate you all on the occasion of the Knowledge Day and wish you an academic year full of success and achievements.