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.