As of the 2023-2024 academic year, Armenia has 29,000 teachers. Of these, approximately 26,000—89.5%—are women. This numerical evidence of women’s dominance in schools is derived from data provided by Armenia’s Statistical Committee.
However, the numbers don’t explain why or how teaching became a “woman’s job.”
Sociologist Sona Balasanyan explored this question in her 2021 study “The Teacher as a Woman” and concluded that, in Armenia, the teacher’s role is largely perceived as that of a caregiver rather than an educator. Society, in turn, has assigned caregiving responsibilities to women.
Yet, the question remains unanswered: Are women so prevalent in educational institutions because they are good caregivers, or because men refuse to “care” for that salary?
You’re a smart person—what are you doing in a school?
Over his 15 years in teaching, Garik Tsatryan has frequently heard remarks of both admiration and pity from students’ parents: “Would a good specialist work for that salary?”
“My students’ parents, and even my students, would often be surprised and say, ‘You’re smart—why stay in a school? You could find a better job.’ I love my work, but I did try other jobs. For six months, I worked six hours a day as a waiter’s assistant at a café. I earned the same salary as I did at school. In one job, I dealt with fries and sandwiches; in the other, with the futures of children,” shares history teacher Garik Tsatryan.
In schools, the level of responsibility doesn’t align with the wages.
Garik was compelled to take on a variety of other jobs, including working as a guide and a trainer for tourism companies. He has now found a way to combine a proper salary with his passion: he serves as the leadership development manager for the “Generation” program at “Teach for Armenia.” Still, he notes that, more often teachers fond of their job find it difficult to stay in schools.
“I have a friend who’s a geography expert. He worked two jobs—at a school and as a supervisor-salesperson at a store. In the end, he left the school because the store offered higher salary prospects. Most people prefer to leave and pursue other work. After all, they’re men—there are countless issues to resolve, and they have to support their families,” he says.
There are 3,035 male teachers currently working in Armenia. Garik Tsatryan finds it difficult to believe that this number will grow or even stay the same. He believes that the educational process will gradually continue to rest more heavily on women’s shoulders.
The breadwinner isn’t always the man
M. Avagyan earns 128,000 dram. He says he is paid well due to his 26 years of experience. There’s no sarcasm in this—this is considered a high salary. Avagyan teaches at a vocational school in Yerevan, where one workload is 18 hours, and teachers have neither the right nor the opportunity to teach more than 1.5 workloads.
“You might have 25 hours in one semester and 23 hours in the next, depending on how the curriculum is structured—it fluctuates. As an experienced worker, my hours don’t vary much, at most 3 hours. Some people teach 18-20 hours, and naturally, they are paid less,” he says.
“A job suited for women: an all-female team to prevent jealous husbands, short working hours to allow time for household responsibilities, and a salary framed as pocket money for minor personal needs. I’m a single mother,” she said. “It’s not always the man who supports the household.”
The teacher shared that she is raising a child on her current salary, which has remained unchanged for a decade. With her child now in the second grade, she noted that both expenses and the cost of goods continue to rise, making it increasingly difficult to manage. While she expressed a deep love for her work, she admitted that she would consider leaving if a better opportunity arose.
She recalled a time when she worked a second job, spending nights at a pastry factory before heading to school in the morning. Now, with greater demands from both her child and her teaching role, she acknowledged that juggling additional work would come at a cost to all involved.
The policy of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports
The policymakers and implementers emphasize that teachers should receive a dignified salary. However, what solutions does the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports offer? The ministry’s approach to evaluating teachers’ work is outlined in several points, which reveal the following picture.
Under the new funding system, the minimum workload has been increased and set at 119,000 AMD.
Garik Tsatryan argues that a teacher’s work and salary are not commensurate, not only with the responsibility but also with the scope of their duties. He believes that those who think a teacher’s work ends with the final bell of the day are mistaken.
Garik Tsatryan points out, “Many teachers do additional work at home. I can’t say all of them, but there are many teachers who are committed to their work. They print extra materials, prepare tests, and create games to make lessons more engaging. Eventually, they plan their lessons, evaluate their effectiveness, and seek out and implement new approaches.”
In the case of the subjects (modules) taught by M. Avagyan, there are additional issues as well: Armenian-language textbooks are unavailable. The teacher searches for, translates, and adapts the content. While they are not opposed to self-education, the lack of recognition for the work done—often even at the verbal level—sometimes affects motivation.
M. Avagyan states that the issues are mitigated but not solved by the ministry’s evaluation mechanisms. Alongside her second job, she half-jokingly, half-seriously points to other culprits: “I’m glad to have a good team, but I also blame them. If the environment weren’t so good, I might have left sooner and pursued a more profitable job.”
Authored by Arusyak Kapukchyan
Data processing and charts by Karine Darbinyan
Cover image by Imagine AI
Design by Van Simon
The story has been prepared by Ampop Media in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES). The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and are not necessarily aligned with those of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
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First Published: 17/01/2025
