Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan, speaking at a parliamentary discussion on the country’s 2026 draft budget today, linked the country’s 23% poverty rate to the lack of proper public education.

Pashinyan blamed past governments for neglecting to improve the education system in Armenia, both in terms of academic policy and infrastructure.

“We are showing economic growth and significant money circulation, yet we do not see a substantial reduction in poverty. I have thought a lot about this phenomenon. In my view, the reason is the dilapidated schools and the fact that a significant portion of the country’s children are deprived of the right to quality education.There is no other reason,” Pashinyan argued.

To bolster this claim, Pashinyan added that tens of thousands of foreigners have come to Armenia and have found work, and that there is a high demand for workers in sectors that pay high wages. Pashinyan failed to specify what jobs these thousands of people fill after coming to Armenia.

“Today, any Armenian citizen who possesses even slightly above-average skills and knowledge can more easily overcome poverty. Poverty is overcome through work. There is no other way. And for work to effectively lift someone out of poverty, that work must be skilled,” Pashinyan emphasized.

Pashinyan conveniently failed to point out that the hundreds of annual university graduates in Armenia are hard-pressed to find suitable jobs in their fields given the country’s tiny domestic employment market and that many are forced to emigrate to find well-paying jobs.

He also didn’t address the plight of the country’s unskilled workers.