PRESS RELEASE
United Armenian Fund
1101 North Pacific Avenue, Suite 301
Glendale, CA 91202
Tel: (818) 241-8900
Grand Opening of New School Building in Stepanakert
Stepanakert – Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan, Prime Minister Arayik
Harutyunyan, as well as Ministers of Education and Science, and Urban
Planning, joined local officials, Senior Vice President Harut Sassounian of
The Lincy Foundation, and Save the Children representatives on March 31 to
mark the grand opening of a new school building in Stepanakert.
The new building, constructed through major support from the Los
Angeles-based The Lincy Foundation and with additional funding from the
Artsakh government, will accommodate 350 students and will eliminate the
need for school to be held in two shifts due to overcrowded conditions at
the existing school building. The new space also will house a preschool
program for 60 children, age five to six.
"We truly appreciate the contribution by The Lincy Foundation and the
Nagorno-Karabakh government for the construction of this school," said Irina
Saghoyan, Armenia Country Office Director for Save the Children. "Holding
classes in two shifts certainly takes its toll on children and teachers. The
new school building will ease educational constraints and help improve the
learning environment for everyone."
School #1, a two-story building constructed in the early 1960s, is the
oldest and largest school in Stepanakert. The current enrollment of over
1,000 students in grades 7 to 9 is almost twice the number of the building’s
capacity. To accommodate the overflow, children had to attend school in two
shifts – one in the morning and one in the afternoon – compromising the
quality of their education. The building has no indoor plumbing. Children
were required to use an outdoor toilet that was especially difficult to
access during the harsh winter months.
The new four-story building includes 18 junior high school classrooms, two
pre-school classrooms, a teacher’s room, eight restrooms, a sports hall, an
underground shelter and a basement-level retail store. Two two-ton water
tanks were placed under the roof of the building and a schedule drawn up to
ensure a steady supply of water to new indoor plumbing. The school was built
to meet regional state school building and safety standards, including
earthquake resistant construction and an underground shelter. Work on the
building began in March 2008.
PHOTO CAPTIONS FOR OPENING OF NEW SCHOOL BUILDING IN STEPANAKERT,
NAGORNO-KARABAKH
All Photos/Credit: Narine Bezirganyan for Save the Children
Photo 1170:
Harut Sassounian, Senior Vice President of The Lincy Foundation delivers
remarks at the grand opening of a new school building in Stepanakert on
March 31. Bako Sahakyan, President of Artsakh, is standing on the left.
Photo 1179:
Bako Sahakyan, President of Artsakh and Harut Sassounian, Senior Vice
President of The Lincy Foundation cut the red ribbon to mark the official
opening of a new school building in Stepanakert on March 31.
Photo 862:
The new school building in Stepanakert officially opened on March 31.