Cold Reality: Gyumri school superior in facility, failing marks for comfort

For years during the cold season students at Gyumri's Byron School have sat in their classes in overcoats and warm jackets, in a facility that was designed to be "state of the art" when it was a post-earthquake jewel of the city.

One of Gyumri's best schools, it was built after the devastating Spitak earthquake in 1988 with the efforts of the British government and Armenian-British organizations. Since 1996, however, meaning for the past 17 years, the school has been unable to use its central heating system. The classrooms are heated with electric heaters.

"The air temperature almost never goes above 15 degrees (59F)," school principle Grigor Harutunyan, who has been in charge of Byron school since 1991, told ArmeniaNow; he himself does not take off his warm overcoat in his cold office.  Read more... (1014 words)

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