President Armen Sarkissian’s Congratulatory Message on Teachers’ Day

Dear Teachers,

Today, we celebrate your professional holiday, Teachers’ Day.

We are celebrating it in difficult times, in a stressful and tense atmosphere when we need not only to combine our abilities and power to invest our experience and knowledge but also to learn and teach anew, never to stint to be a student and to learn from the Teacher in the broadest sense of the word.

We, as a nation, know the place of the teacher in our system of values very well. Statehood is born and lives owing to education as well, which is the same as owing to an educated individual, society, and people. In those times when we did not have statehood, it was the teacher, who together with the clergy, kept the light of the Homeland, Faith and Language, i.e. the light of our identity, bright in us.

Throughout our lives, we always have teachers, whether in the family or at school, around us, or at work. One way or another, they teach us to live and love, to have mercy and forgiveness, to fight and win, to be strong, to be wise and educated, to gain knowledge and experience. One of them teaches us to protect and preserve the Homeland and national values, the other to be brave and determined, the third to work and create, the fourth to be happy and compassionate, the fifth ...

They all usually integrate into one image of a Teacher...

School is the starting point from which, as well as from the family, the realization of our identity begins, owing to our parents, and our teachers, who often replace each other in different situations. That is to say, the future of the country begins with the teachers, the upbringing and knowledge they give, and their experience and advice passed on to us, which remain valuable and necessary at all times.

We live in a world full of challenges, when unexpected, unforeseen and unpredictable changes occur more and more often, when the need for conscious, educated and creative people grows, who must not only create the future of Armenia but also participate in the building of the nearest future of the world.

In today's world, the role of teachers is no longer limited to the provision of knowledge. One must be able to understand the deep essence of the changes taking place in the country, in the society, and in the world. We can build schools, and universities, but without qualified teachers there cannot be any results of quality.

We must create all the conditions, dear teachers, for you to have the opportunity not only to educate worthy citizens but also to improve your skills and develop your knowledge so that you, your families and your students, their parents and relatives can all live in a strong, prosperous, safe, and healthy country.

Dear Teachers,

All of us were pupils at school. I remember my teachers with warmth and gratitude.

Every one of us continues to be a pupil. I am grateful to my school teachers and all the people from whom I have learned and continue to learn something.

I wish you that all of your students remember you with respect and love throughout their lives.

I wish you all health, prosperity, and all the best.