Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports (Armenia)

The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Armenia (MoESCS) (Կրթության, գիտության, մշակույթի և սպորտի նախարարություն) is the Armenian state body of executive authority, which elaborates and implements the policies set out by the Government of Armenia in the education, science, culture, sports and youth policy sectors.

Recent structural changes
As of June 2019, the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Culture have merged.

Ministry of Education and Science
The history of the Ministry of Education and Science is best separated into three periods.

Beginning with the First Republic, the Ministry was formed on 24 July 1918 when the National Council released the composition of the Supreme Executive Body. Not long after in 1919, requested by then Minister Gevorg Karagyozyan, the Ministry would expand to include arts and antiquities.

This structure would follow into the Soviet period, when by decree of the ASSR Revolutionary Council the People's Commissariat of Enlightenment was established. Besides being renamed to the Ministry of Enlightenment, this system would persist until 1973. Afterwards, elements of the Ministry were formed into the Ministry of Higher and Vocational Education. This split would be reverted in 1988 by the ASSR Supreme Council, which resulted in the establishment of the Ministry of National Education. The Ministry of National Education did not last long though. Another ASSR Supreme Council decision in late 1990 led to the split into the Ministry of Enlightenment and State Committee for Higher Education and Science.

Following Armenian independence and the formation of the Republic of Armenia, in 1992 the State Committee for Higher Education and Science was reorganized into the Ministry of Higher Education and Science. In 1995, the Ministry of Enlightenment and prior would be merged into the Ministry of Education and Science.

Ministry of Culture
The history of the Ministry of Culture is more convoluted. Ultimately only being established in 1953 during the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, its sectors of authority and structure predated this formation.

Before the Ministry's establishment it was part of the predecessors of the Ministry of Education and Science. However, it is to be emphasized that the Ministry of Education and Science still precedes those structures. In the first year of the First Republic of Armenia's existence, there was no administrative body in charge of cultural affairs. Like stated in the section on the Ministry of Education and Science, this jurisdiction was added to it in 1919.

Even into the Soviet administration, cultural affairs would stay departments of subsequent executive offices for education. This would change with the establishment of the Ministry of Culture in 1953. Given the task of implementation and management of affairs in the field of Culture, Enlightenment, Theatre, Music and Arts.

Besides name changes and minor restructuring following Armenia's independence, the Ministry would persist until 2019.

Name changes
Before the 2019 merger, both ministries experienced several name changes. These name changes being primarily of stylistic nature rather than following changes in their sectors of executive authority; (exceptions mentioned prior).


 * Ministry of Education and Science:
 * July 1918 - June 1919 → Ministry of Public Education
 * July 1919 - Nov. 1920 → Ministry of Public Education and Arts
 * Dec. 1920 - 1946 → People's Commissariat of Enlightenment
 * 1946 - 1988 → Ministry of Enlightenment
 * 1988 - 1990 → Ministry of National Education
 * 1990 - 1995 → Ministry of Enlightenment
 * 1995 - July 2019 → Ministry of Education and Science
 * Ministry of Culture:
 * July 1919 - 1920 → (Part of) Ministry of Public Education and Arts
 * Dec. 1920 - 1936 → (Arts Department of) People's Commissariat of Enlightenment
 * 1936 - Apr. 1953 → Department of Arts Affairs (of the ASSR People's Council)
 * Apr. 1953 - Nov. 1996 → Ministry of Culture
 * Nov. 1996 - June 2003 → Ministry of Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports
 * June 2003 - May 2006 → Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs
 * May 2006 - July 2019 → Ministry of Culture