French school signs up sheep to keep class open![]() May 8, 2019 - 11:57 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Fifteen sheep have been symbolically signed up as the latest recruits at a primary school in the French Alps after parents feared falling pupil numbers would see some classes closed, The Guardian reports. The move came after the school in Crêts en Belledonne, a village at the foot of the Alps, was told one of its 11 classes would be closed after numbers fell from 266 to 261. On Tuesday morning a local herder and his dog came to school with some 50 sheep in tow, 15 of whom were “officially” registered after showing their birth certificates. Added to register was a pupil called “Baa-bete” and another called “Saute-Mouton” - the sheepish equivalent of ‘leapfrog’ – in a comic ceremony watched by children, parents and teachers. “Now we won’t have to close any classes,” smiled Gaelle Laval, one of the parents behind the initiative, who accused the national education authority of being more concerned about numbers than about the children’s welfare. Laval said he had used humour to mobilise people to tackle the “miserable” situation. ![]() ![]() Azerbaijani authorities report that they have already resettled 3,000 people in the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Stepanakert. On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. ![]() ![]() Partner news | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |