YEREVAN, OCTOBER 31, NOYAN TAPAN. By the 2008 draft state budget, expenditures on the sphere of education will make 103 bln 684 mln drams, which exceeds the 2007 index by 17 bln drams. Educational expenditures make up 2.95% of the overall expenditures of the state budget - against 2.82% in 2007. The RA deputy minister of finance and economy Pavel Safarian stated this at the October 31 joint sitting of the RA National Assembly standing committees. According to him, the growth in financing of education is mainly conditioned by an increase in salaries of teachers, administrative, edication assisting and economic employees. Based on this, the average monthly salary of a teacher of the comprehensive education system, including additional payments, will make 89.6 thousand drams against 56.3 thousand drams in 2007. The growth makes nearly 21%. The average monthly salary of administrative staff (heads of schools) will make 136 thousand drams against 76.3 thousand drams (about 230 USD) in 2007.

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