KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

"Introduction of chess as an academic discipline in Armenian schools was one of the greatest achievements of the country’s education system. Perhaps it is too early to summarize the results of the initiative but today we can definitely say that a large-scale educational initiative of this kind brings honour to the country and allows us to feel more confident and proud in the international arena,’’ Minister of Education and Science of Armenia, Armen Ashotyan, said on January 27 during the official opening of the Centre for Educational Research in Chess at Armenian State Pedagogical University after Khachatur Abovyan.

 The minister promised to render a full and continuous support to the program and stressed that educational ideas and suggestions are often taken from other countries, but in the case of chess, Armenia already has experience and "a product’’ to export. 

Rector of Armenian State Pedagogical University, Ruben Mirzakhanyan, once again assured everyone that there is a great interest at the University in chess: ASPU’s leading partners in Europe and the USA also emphasize the role and significance of chess in the education system. He also accounted the interest for an international conference held recently at the ASPU which had brought together 180 representatives from 31 countries. A group of young professionals representing the ASPU also participated in the conference. Let us mention that the members of the group will work at the newly-opened Center. 

"Chess was successfully introduced [as an academic discipline] into the curriculum of public schools. Experience shows that it has a great educational and social potential and arouses interest of many leading universities,’’ said Vahan Sargsyan, who is in charge of research projects at the Center. He also presented the main challenges and the expected results of the Center.

Conflicting ideas about the effectiveness of chess, lack of tools to assess educational progress and special educational needs, slow pace of international recognition of studies: the newly established Center will focus on these and other important issues in its activities, contributing, first of all,  to the continuous improvement of chess teaching at school.

Head of the newly opened  Center, Head of the ASPU Department of Sports and Chess, Smbat Lputyan, compared the opening of the Center with the planting of a tree, stressing that years later the ‘fruits’ of the project will be ‘highly valued and demanded’ not only in Armenia, but also in the entire world.  

Research projects at the Center for Educational Research in Chess will be carried out with the financing of the State Committee of Science of the Ministry of Education and Science. The opening ceremony was attended by Samvel Harutyunyan, Chairman of the State Committee of Science, Anahit Bakhshyan, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Education, Ruzanna Muradyan, a lawmaker from the Republican Party of Armenia, Gayane Soghomonyan, Head of the Department of General Education at Yerevan Municipality, representatives of the education sector, school principals and teachers.