Refugee Children From Nagorno-Karabakh Begin Class in Armenian Schools

Thousands of ethnic-Armenian children who fled the Nagorno-Karabakh region after an assault by Azerbaijani forces on September 19 have begun attending classes at schools in Armenia, according to government and media reports.On Wednesday, the Armenian prime minister’s press secretary, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, said more than 29,000 children were among 100,625 forcibly displaced people who had arrived in Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh, and said their education was a priority for the government.On Friday, Baghdasaryan told media that 7,904 children – roughly 38 percent of school-aged children who had arrived – had been enrolled in schools so far. The government was also looking to hire more teachers and advertised 1,035 vacant positions across the country.This footage published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Friday shows students at a school in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, where they said around 20 evacuee children were enrolled. The video includes interviews with children from Nagorno-Karabakh, including a girl who becomes tearful while recounting how her family was forced to leave their home, and an interview with a teacher from Nagorno-Karabakh who said she was hired immediately after arriving in Armenia, according to translations provided by RFE/RL. Credit: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via Storyful
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