APPEAL TO CONCERNED ARMENIANS

Dear Armenian,

The unthinkable has happened, and the AGBU Central Board has decided to shut down Melkonian Educational Institute (MEI) as of June 2005.

The shock-waves have reached every concerned Armenian all over the world, and they are appalled at the despicable action taken by an organization that is founded to build and sponsor Armenian schools.

This is AGBU’s main reasoning to justify the closure of MEI:

The AGBU Central Board declares that “ MEI no longer meets the challenges of its mission in the present context of the Armenian world.” (For the complete position paper please visit www.savemelkonian.org).

Are these academic challenges?

To this claim the teachers at MEI signed a declaration stating that this is completely false, because statistics show that the success number in the GCEE (official government exams) has actually risen significantly in the last years. The teachers also state that no qualified personnel entered the classrooms to evaluate the academic standards of the students.

Furthermore, the school’s principal states that until last year, MEI was merely considered as an “Armenian School”. As of 2003, the Cypriot government evaluated MEI’s curriculum and deduced that it met the standards of any of the Cypriot private schools (See March 27, 2004, Nor Or article entitled “Armenians in Nicosia”).

Even “if” the above accusation is true, the AGBU Central Board remains the responsible party. If they noticed a decline in academic achievement in any section of the school’s program, they should have taken the appropriate measures to rectify the situation and not watch its decline from the sidelines. After all, isn’t the MEI under the Central Board’s supervision financially and academically? We all know that the solution definitely does not lie in closing a 78-year-old UNIQUE establishment and the world’s one and only Armenian boarding school.

Are these financial challenges?

The AGBU CB claims that “The LA based Manoogian-Demirdjian school, with an enrollment of over 950 students, runs a successful operation on a FINANCIALLY SELF-SUPPORTIVE BASIS.”

Hence, the verdict: if you are not financially self-supportive, they simply shut you down, the same way a McDonalds chain restaurant is shut down just because it is not selling enough hamburgers.

After all, how many schools are self- supportive? If AGBU schools have to be financially self-supportive, then the AGBU might as well be called AGU, excluding its benevolent component.

Are these enrollment challenges?

The number of students has risen immensely in the last five years as follows: 163, 174, 197, 249, and 251 respectively. Last year it dropped to 206 mainly because of two factors:

1)      Late applicants were refused by Gordon Anderson (the AGBU representative, who was hired to find potential customers interested in buying MEI), even though in the past, provisions were made to accommodate these late comers.

2)      Rumors were already circulating about the closure of the school, which profoundly reduced enrollment.

The AGBU CB claims that in the 80’s facilities were built to house 350 students to enhance enrollment, a plan that was never accomplished. AGBU CB chooses to ignore the fact that never in its 78 year of existence has MEI had more than an average of 250 students.

Are they other challenges?

If MEI “fails” in all other missions, just the fact that it is the ONLY Armenian school that hosts students from such countries as Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Albania, and Russia, to name a few, justifies its existence. These students come from communities where there are no or a few Armenian schools, and the students’ knowledge of the Armenian language and history is very weak. During their seven years stay at MEI, these students are enriched with a strong sense of Armenian spirit and a good grasp of the language, and when they return to their countries, they can become active and contributing members in their local Armenian communities.

Call to Action

It is beyond any doubt that all the above arguments of the AGBU CB are shameful and unforgivable excuses to shut down MEI. Nothing and absolutely nothing justifies this destructive action, especially when the perpetrators are Armenians who ironically serve in a BENEVOLENT union. This act is rightfully declared as a second GENOCIDE.

In November 2003, the Central Board declared that the rumors concerning the closure of MEI were not true, yet, after four months, it unanimously declared MEI’s closure as of June 2005. This shows that the AGBU CB is determined to realize the selling of MEI, using all means possible, even deceit.

Shutting down ANY Armenian school in the Diaspora will only weaken our daily struggle to keep our identity as Armenians, first and foremost by losing our language. And without language a nation cannot survive, no matter what the AGBU or other ‘geniuses’ declare. Please, do not forget: today it’s MEI, tomorrow, who knows? With this kind of commercial thinking in present AGBU leaders, after MEI, every other school is at risk. This is a pan-Armenian issue, which concerns and should concern every single Armenian. So if you can do anything, by making phone calls to the appropriate places, or just by passing the word around, please, do so, because we need every single one of you to try to put a stop to this catastrophic decision from turning into a reality.

I thank you in advance for your support.

Vahan Naccashian

Class of ‘83

Montreal