Local mayor reluctant to talk about problems Pupils attending the high school in the Armavir community of Lousagyugh have come up with way to stay warm in class. Along with their school books, the kids bring along sheepskins to sit on. One of the pupils told me that the windows are old and drafty and that it’s not just possible to warm the classrooms; even with heaters. 230 pupils are thus forces to shiver through the winter months in this rural school. The high school is located in the center of the town. To say that the two-story building resembles a school from the outside would be a stretch of the imagination. Many of the glass windows are broken and some of the outside stones in the walls are protruding outwards. Ground water seeping up has lead to mold and mildew on the lower level. The casual observer would find it hard to believe that school classes are taking place inside. Lousagyugh Mayor Saribek Karapetyan told me that the school hasn’t been renovated since Soviet times. True, some cosmetic repairs have been made at the school’s expense, but the building has never been included in any governmental reconstruction program. Mayor Karapetyan, now 46 years old, says he once attended the school which was built in the 1970’s.  The local official noted that the government has promised to build a new school for the community by 2013. “We went to the Regional Governor and told him about the school problem. He visited the community and saw the school for himself. They sent specialists to assess what could be done. Turns out the present building is beyond repair, so a news school is the only solution. If the economic crisis hadn’t hit, the new building would have been up and ready by now,” says the mayor. Gayaneh Sayadyan, who heads the Department of Education, Culture and Sports at the Armavir Regional Administration, told Hetq that there are presently over forty schools in the district in need of immediate repair. “We expect to renovate all the region’s schools in the next three years. However, the program is dependent on the country’s financial condition. We’re talking about a lot of money. It’s hard to predict whether the entire project will be completed as planned,” said Ms. Sayadyan. She seemed doubtful, given that many of the region’s schools were in terrible shape and that huge resources were called for. “The cost estimates to renovate just one school can range from 100 to 700 million AMD. Do such funds exist today in order to complete the work in three years? I really can’t say,” Ms. Sayadyan confessed. She confirmed the news that a new school would be built in Lousagyugh, adding that it was slated to open its doors by September, 2012. Next to the school is a non-descript one-story structure. The only thing that appears to be new is the main door. At first I thought it might be the house of one of the local residents. One of the pupils told me it actually served as the community’s cultural center. Mayor Karapetyan found our probing questions regarding the community more than a little unsettling. He hesitated to answer. What he did say was that repair work had already started on the cultural club, as he called it. Mayor Karapetyan said the community had no dance or singing groups. In fact, there aren’t any active interest or hobby groups in Lousagyugh. The building merely houses the local library. “I’m busy and can’t answer any more of your questions,” said Mayor Karapetyan, thus making it clear that the interview was over.