Nagorno-Karabakh starts the programme "Computer to Every Child"

Each pupil of forms 1-4 of the cities of Stepanakert and Shushi will be provided with a computer that has been specially designed and developed for educational purposes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Computers are provided to schoolchildren free of charge.

The programme is implemented in Karabakh for the money of the Argentinean businessman Eduardo Ernekyan with assistance of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU).

As previously reported by the "Caucasian Knot", in January 2011 Mr Ernekyan signed an agreement with the government of Nagorno-Karabakh on the implementation of a new educational programme "New Education Strategy" for the schools of the republic.

"The computer will be the property not of a school but of a pupil; however, it is encoded in such a way that at least 1-2 times a week it should be brought to school; otherwise it will become inoperative. The aim is to exclude sale or theft of computers," said Sergey Bagdasaryan the head of the Karabakh office of the AGBU.

Vladik Khachatryan, Minister of Education of Nagorno-Karabakh, has noted that in the new school year 3150 primary schoolchildren will receive computers. The whole programme is worth 1.5 million US dollars and assumes that 22,000 computers will be delivered to schools within 2 years.