PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF DISABILITY HAS NOT YET FORMED IN ARMENIA, PRIME MINISTER OF RA SAYS
Noyan Tapan
Dec 03 2007
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 3, NOYAN TAPAN. Although many laws on problems of
the disabled have been adopted in Armenia and the amount of budgetary
allocations for solution of these problems is increasing year by year,
modern public perception of disability has not yet formed in Armenia,
the Armenian prime minister Serge Sargsian expressed this opinion
during the December 3 visit to special school No 15 for children with
hearing disorders. He pointed out that a lot of depends on nearly
300 NGOs that deal with this problems.
NGO representatives said that there were previously several
enterprises, at which deaf persons used to work but these enterprises
are not operating now due to high taxes. The problem of employment of
the disabled has not yet received a legislative solution. According to
NGOs, 3,500 deaf persons currently live in Armenia, about 70 million –
in the world.
In the words of the school headmaster Ashot Avetisian, 300 pupils have
graduated from their school which started functioning in 1960. The
graduates of recent years already work as carpet makers, tailors,
hairdressers, etc. – jobs they have learnt at school.