VARDENIS, Armenia (A.W.)—A group of elementary school students have gone on strike in the Armenian village of Vardenis, vowing not to return to class until the completion of their new school. Armenia’s Hetq investigative news service reported that the students have been striking since Sept. 27, because they are fed-up going to school in a “dilapidated building that could crumble down on them at any minute.”
The dilapidated school building (Photo: Narek Aleksanyan/Hetq)
Below is a video of the protest (Source: Hetq).
The new school has been in construction since 2012 and has not yet reached completion. According to Hetq, the nearly-one-million dollar (USD) project was awarded to a company owned by Member of Parliament Aragats Akhoyan of the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP).
Students on strike outside the school (Photo: Narek Aleksanyan/Hetq)
Regional government authorities have now promised that construction will be completed by Oct. 10.
Vardenis village is located in Armenia’s Aragatsotn province and has a total population of just over 600.
A view from inside the building (Photo: Narek Aleksanyan/Hetq)
Source: Armenian Weekly
Link: Vardenis Students Go On Strike, Demand New School