YEREVAN, MARCH 13, NOYAN TAPAN. At the March 13 sitting, the RA government approved the 2008-2015 strategic program of preschool education reforms and the reforms pilot program. As Levon Mkrtchian, the RA Minister of Education and Science, said after the sitting, the program's goal is to secure absolute involvement of 5-6-year-old children in preschool system until 2015. According to the Minister, for that purpose there are exact three-month, six-month, one-year educational programs, the criteria have been also established. L. Mkrtchian said that pilot programs will be implemented in the Shirak (Akhurian) and Lori (Spitak) regions with the World Bank financing of 130 thousand dollars. It was mentioned that 623 kindergartens with 47308 children worked in the country in 2006. At that, 395 kindergartens with 38454 children worked in towns. Children's involvement in the preschool education system in towns made 28.5%, in villages 10.5%.

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