Governing Education Together: Swedish Experience Meets Armenian Reform
At the end of June, a delegation of Swedish representatives spent a week in Armenia, travelling from the capital to the partner communities regions to share their experience in an area they know well: the governance of schools at the local level.
Visit to Akhuryan Municipality
The visit was organised within the DeaLoG project's pilot initiative on the decentralisation of general education governance. The initiative aims to support Armenian communities in assuming new responsibilities for their schools, while strengthening the governance capacities and institutional capabilities needed to exercise them effectively. Three communities have been selected to lead this process: Akhuryan in Shirak, Vayk in Vayots Dzor, and Tatev in Syunik, together with the secondary schools of Keti, Martiros and Tatev, which will subsequently be reorganised into educational hubs.
The STYRSAM methodology was a central part
Central to the week was the Swedish STYRSAM methodology, known as “Governing Together” — an approach successfully applied in 31 municipalities across Sweden. Together with the Maturity Model, it is one of the key tools used within the pilot initiative. Rather than a fixed model, it helps communities and schools find practical ways to work together, fostering shared decision-making and a continuous focus on education quality. The delegation included representatives of Västervik, one of the Swedish municipalities where “Governing Together” has been successfully implemented, who came to share the practical experience of applying it.
Meeting with education deputy-minister
The week began in Yerevan with meetings at two ministries. At the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Deputy Minister Arnak Avetisyan received the delegation, praising Armenian–Swedish cooperation and reviewing the work carried out under the DeaLoG project. At the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, Deputy Minister Araksia Svajyan hosted a substantive discussion on the reforms ahead — school management, financing, the distribution of functions, and the capacities communities will need as they take on new responsibilities.
A recurring theme emerged early: decentralisation can succeed only if communities are genuinely equipped for it. It is a challenge Sweden knows well, and one the visit was designed to address through shared, practical experience rather than theory.
Over the following days, the delegation took the discussion into the field, visiting each of the three pilot communities in turn.
In Akhuryan (Shirak), accompanied by representatives of both ministries, the group met Mayor Zaven Manukyan, municipal staff, council members and school principals to review the pilot's progress and next steps. The delegation toured a municipal kindergarten and the newly opened Keti Educational Complex, learning about its infrastructure, governance model and educational opportunities.
In Vayk (Vayots Dzor), Mayor Mkhitar Matevosyan and his team discussed the practical questions and challenges of implementing the pilot, from managing schools to coordinating with the community.
In Tatev (Syunik), a working meeting brought together Mayor Samvel Lalayan, Deputy Mayor Marat Gerasimyan, council members, staff and educators. The Swedish partners presented their own model of school governance — its achievements as well as its obstacles — and Mayor Lalayan raised the questions that matter most in a mountainous, sparsely populated region: how Sweden handles school consolidation and closures, how it transports pupils safely from remote settlements, and how it protects jobs through reform. The delegation also visited the Shinuhayr kindergarten and Tatev Secondary School.
Back in Yerevan for the final day, the delegation met the city's Deputy Mayor to discuss education governance in the capital, before the week's concluding event.
Workshop on "Governing Together"
The week culminated in Yerevan with the “Governing Together” workshop, which drew around 70 participants — representatives of the two ministries, Yerevan Municipality, the pilot communities and schools, and education experts.
Opening the event, Varsenik Mnatsakanyan, Senior Programme and Team Manager of the DeaLoG project, described it as an opportunity to exchange experience and learn from Sweden's practices. On behalf of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, Anush Lalazaryan noted that Armenia has entered an important stage of decentralisation, with the long-term aim of gradually transferring school governance to communities once they are properly equipped.
The Swedish participants then turned to the method itself — outlining how education is governed in Sweden, presenting the philosophy and practical application of “Governing Together,” and sharing Västervik's own experience of putting it into practice, challenges and solutions alike. A dedicated session focused on evidence-based, data-driven decision-making. The workshop closed with an interactive planning exercise led by the project's education expert, Serob Khachatryan, in which participants mapped roles across the education governance chain and looked together for practical ways to strengthen it at the local level.
By the end of the week, a shared conclusion had taken shape: decentralisation can succeed in Armenia if the management of the future educational hubs is entrusted to communities, and if local governments are given the financial, administrative and human resources to carry it out. Sweden's experience — and Västervik's in particular — offered not a blueprint to copy, but a practical reference point for the road ahead. The work now continues, with the pilot communities and their partners taking the next steps together.