Armenian language textbook featuring burning tricolor to be used by schools

Changes in the sphere of education continue. Textbooks are also changing, causing a new scandal each year.

Teachers and parents complain about the new textbooks. The most scandalous case was probably the one with the seventh-grade Armenian history textbook published last year.

This year, however, the reason for discontent was the third-grade Armenian language textbook. Everything started with a photo spread on the Internet, with users alarmed that the cover of the textbook featured a burning tricolor. These pictures were actively spread on the Internet, raising a wave of criticism. The blame fell on the authors, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports (MoESCS), and the publishing house.

Hours after the photos were spread, the co-author of the book, Vachagan Sargsyan, made a Facebook post, clarifying that the authors have nothing to do with the cover.  “We, the authors of the textbook, would like to officially announce that the mentioned page has absolutely nothing to do with what we have presented. Here is the last page of the cover we have presented, and here is the last page of the printed version. Probably there was some misunderstanding at the printing house,” the co-author wrote.

This explanation was not satisfactory for the public. The MoESCS refused to comment, only stating that there is no burning tricolor on the cover of the book on the online platform.

People started demanding explanations from Antares Holding, the company that published the book. Thus, a clarifying video was shared, where a specialist claimed that there was a typo and there was no intention. ABC media also spoke with the director of the holding, Armen Martirosyan, who claimed that they had already received the file in that format and, since they have no right to interfere in the work of the book authors, they printed it in the same way.

While everyone was trying to evade responsibility, we talked with the co-author of the book, Vachagan Sargsyan. He confirmed that what happened was the result of a misunderstanding. “I don’t think that anyone in Antares or anyone in general would take such a bad step,” the co-author said.

Years ago, there was a very important practice in printing houses: before the books were printed, a few copies were printed as samples, and only after approval was the whole run printed. This approach has not been used for several years, and here is the result.

The textbook will continue to be used. Third-graders will have to see a burning tricolor every time they take the book because the entire print run has already been sent to schools.

Seda Makaryan