On May 14, the NGO “Media for Education” held the closing ceremony of the sub-grant project “Education Expenses/Quality of Critical Thinking.” The event was implemented within the framework of the “Budgets for Citizens” project, which is being implemented with the financial support of the European Union, by the “Armenian Lawyers’ Association” NGO in collaboration with the “Center for Economic Development and Research” NGO and “Agora Central Europe” NGO (Czech Republic).
At the beginning of the event, Mr. Josip Juric, Cooperation Section Programme Officer of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia, delivered a welcome speech. He emphasized the importance of civil society participation in the budgetary process. He also spoke about the importance of analyzing budget expenditures, evaluating results, and raising public awareness about reforms. During the presentation of the sub-grant project results, the main issues in the general education sector were discussed. Due to the work of the “Media for Education” NGO, education expenditures, certification results, textbook quality, and other educational issues have been studied. During the event, teacher certification indicators, special needs education issues, improving the quality of art classes, and providing free meals for schoolchildren were also discussed. As a result of such initiatives, public accountability will increase, the transparency of the budgetary process will improve, and citizens’ awareness and participation in budgetary processes will be enhanced.