Thursday, March 21 2019 12:08

ArmInfo. The issue with a three-month delay in the salary of employees of the Armath  laboratories will be discussed at a meeting of the interdepartmental  commission.  The decision was taken at the March 21 meeting of the RA  government.

The issue, which was not included in the agenda of the executive  body, was raised by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. He said that he  had received a letter from laboratory staff who complained about a  three-month wage delay to the leaders of 360 groups. "How could this  happen?", the Prime Minister wondered.  In response, RA Minister of  Education and Science Arayik Harutyunyan stressed that last year  employees of the Armath laboratories received direct funding through  grant programs. In 2019, the financing scheme has changed, in which  emphasis is placed on the results of competitions. Due to the fact  that competitions have not yet been held, funding has not been  provided.

In turn, the Minister of Transport, Communication and Information  Technologies of the Republic of Armenia Hakob Arshakyan pointed out  that in the first quarter of this year, the Ministry decided to  directly finance the Gyumri and Vanadzor technoparks to avoid a  similar situation. "However, in the second quarter, if relevant  decisions are not taken, these structures will face the same  situation. I believe that the government's earlier decision was taken  hastily," the minister stressed.

However, Atom Janjughazyan, RA Minister of Finance, did not agree  with this, who stressed that the document was repeatedly discussed at  all levels and aimed at increasing the efficiency of using public  funds.

Nevertheless, as Nikol Pashinyan stated, there was an abnormal  situation that requires an expeditious solution. He demanded that  members of the government prepare deliberate decisions for meetings  of the executive body. "Why haven't the tenders been held yet? It  turns out we wanted to do better, but got worse results?", the prime  minister asked.

To note, in the engineering laboratories "Armath" children are taught  skills in creating games, cartoons, in carrying out mathematical  calculations using the programs "Fox" and "Turtle", as well as in the  modeling and printing of three-dimensional volumes. In accordance  with the memorandum of cooperation signed between the Union of  Information Technology Enterprises (UITE) and Ucom, the latter  invests in order to open about 70 engineering clubs-laboratories  called "Armath" in 9 regions of Armenia. The project aims to promote  technical education in all schools of Armenian communities, aims to  promote interest in modern high technologies among students, early  development of engineering thinking and in the preparation of  literate students. The project provides an opportunity for practical  support in integrating highly qualified IT specialists in the  Armenian and global markets, while sharing experience between them,  as well as in attracting large IT investments. It should be noted  that the software packages developed in the clubs, as well as  equipment schemes, are in the public domain. Computer programs and  systems are, where possible, in Armenian language, and as part of the  project, when purchasing equipment and software, local manufacturers  are preferred, high-quality three-dimensional (3D) printers,  mini-computers, a collection of robotics, and other devices are a  prime example.