Three Armenian schools introduce Azerbaijani language classes

Panorama

Azerbaijani language classes are being offered in three public schools in Armenia during the 2025–2026 academic year, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports told Panorama.am on Friday.

The ministry said teaching regional languages in schools stems from a 2021 government decision to expand foreign language education, including Russian, English, French and regional languages. The initiative began in the 2022–2023 school year as an optional third foreign language or extracurricular program.

Under the program, Azerbaijani and Turkish may be taught only to students in the 10^th-12^th grades, while Persian and Georgian can be introduced from the 5^th grade. Participation is voluntary and depends on the availability of qualified instructors.

The ministry noted that no official list of schools is maintained, as each institution may independently choose to offer regional language instruction in accordance with approved curricula and teacher qualification standards.