Strengthening integrity and fighting corruption in education: Armenia1 1 This report was prepared on behalf of the Open Society Foundations – Armenia by a team of the Center for Applied Policy: Mihaylo Milovanovitch (Advisory Board Member; Network Fellow, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics), with contributions by Ivana Ceneric (Independent Education Policy Consultant), Meri Avetisyan (Network Fellow, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics), and Tetiana Khavanska (Senior Anti-corruption Specialist). Ian Whitman, Chair of the Advisory Board of the Center, provided valuable advice at the final stages of report drafting. UDC 37 The present report deals with a selection of suspected integrity violations in the education system of Armenia. The methodology of this research is a diagnostic and prevention tool. Its purpose is not to investigate, expose and judge who is to blame, but to reveal the education policy shortcomings behind each violation, and thus provide all parties involved with an objective analysis of systemic weaknesses that promote problematic behavior and practices. The report is intended for education experts and policy makers, teachers and academics, parents and students. ISBN 978-9939-64-236-9 ¡ Open Society Foundations Armenia, 2016 ¡ Center for Applied Policy, 2016 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................. 3 PREFACE ...................................................................................................................................... 9 ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................................. 11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................... 12 INTES AND REPORT RATIONALE: LINKING EDUCATION OUTCOMES, INTEGRITY AND CORRUPTION .............................................................................................................................. 23 THE INTES ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................... 23 Rationale ............................................................................................................................. 23 The concept of integrity ...................................................................................................... 25 Assessment steps ................................................................................................................ 26 Step A. Determine what counts as integrity violation ................................................................... 26 Step B. Determine what opens opportunity for the violation ....................................................... 27 Step C. Determine what creates incentives for the violation ........................................................ 28 Summary and Step D. Propose pointers for policy action ............................................................. 29 ABOUT THIS REPORT ..................................................................................................................... 29 Intent ................................................................................................................................... 29 Assessment process ............................................................................................................. 30 CHAPTER 1: ARMENIAN EDUCATION AND ITS INTEGRITY CONTEXT ........................................ 32 THE ARMENIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM ................................................................................................ 32 Description .......................................................................................................................... 32 Reforms in education .......................................................................................................... 34 THE GENERAL INTEGRITY CLIMATE .................................................................................................... 35 Forms of corruption ............................................................................................................. 36 Sectors most affected by corruption ................................................................................... 38 Government’s response ....................................................................................................... 38 OVERVIEW OF EVIDENCE ON CORRUPTION IN ARMENIAN EDUCATION ..................................................... 39 CHAPTER 2: INTEGRITY OF SECONDARY EDUCATION ............................................................... 41 2.1 SUSPECTED INTEGRITY VIOLATION #1: PRIVATE SUPPLEMENTARY TUTORING BY CLASS TEACHERS ............ 41 A. Description ...................................................................................................................... 41 Prevalence of private supplementary tutoring in Armenia............................................................ 42 Private tutoring by class teachers .................................................................................................. 44 Private tutoring and teachers’ under-performance ....................................................................... 44 B. Factors that create opportunities for the integrity violation .......................................... 45 Failure to regulate problematic tutoring practices ........................................................................ 45 Gaps in school inspection practice ................................................................................................. 46 C. Factors that create incentives for the integrity violation ................................................ 48 3 Parental distrust and lack of assessment feedback ....................................................................... 48 Low self-esteem of students as learners ....................................................................................... 49 Teacher salaries ............................................................................................................................. 50 Disconnection between graduation and progression requirements, and curriculum content ...... 52 D. Pointers for action .......................................................................................................... 53 Closing the opportunities for malpractice ..................................................................................... 53 Eliminating the incentives for malpractice .................................................................................... 54 Summary of recommended actions ............................................................................................... 56 2.2 SUSPECTED INTEGRITY VIOLATION #2: POLITICISATION OF SECONDARY EDUCATION ............................. 57 A. Description ...................................................................................................................... 57 B. Factors that create opportunities for the integrity violation .......................................... 59 Informal interdependence between schools and regional authorities .......................................... 59 Capture of school governance and management .......................................................................... 60 C. Factors that create incentives for the integrity violation ................................................ 62 Resource shortages on school level ............................................................................................... 64 Employment (in)security ................................................................................................................ 66 D. Pointers for action .......................................................................................................... 67 Closing the opportunities for malpractice ..................................................................................... 67 Eliminating the incentives for malpractice .................................................................................... 68 Summary of recommended actions ............................................................................................... 69 2.3 SUSPECTED INTEGRITY VIOLATION #3: ABUSE OF PROCEDURES FOR APPOINTMENT AND DISMISSAL OF SCHOOL STAFF ........................................................................................................................ 70 A. Description ...................................................................................................................... 70 B. Factors that create opportunities for the integrity violation .......................................... 73 Ineffective enforcement of rules and regulations ......................................................................... 73 Oversupply of teachers .................................................................................................................. 74 School leadership without accountability ...................................................................................... 75 C. Factors that create incentives for the integrity violation ................................................ 76 Persistent unemployment ............................................................................................................. 76 Allegiance caused by politicisation ...............................................................................................