Georgia: The Education and Science Committee discussed the ongoing reforms in the field of education. The reforms cover two areas and concern the authorization of early and preschool education institutions and general education institutions.
“The Parliament of Georgia has adopted the relevant changes, and the time has come when we, within the framework of the oversight function, are interested in what is planned in this regard, how we are going to implement those changes. Both issues are very important,” said Giorgi Amilakhvari, chairman of the committee.
According to the First Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Tamar Makharashvili, the reform of any level of education requires the maximum involvement of the legislature, as well as the executive branch and each relevant agency.
“A major reform may not have a direct effect on us in the short term, but we are not intimidated by it because we know it will take many years for the reform to take effect, but this reform is ultimately aimed at our future generation and our country,” Tamar Makharashvili stated.
The speaker spoke about “the transition period established by the Law on Early Childhood and Preschool Education, which covers the years 2022-2030, and which describes the role and function of each agency at each stage of this reform. He said that work has started and is underway on the measures identified for 2022.
“A coordination group has been set up, and the draft authorization standards are being discussed. The coordination group includes all the line ministries and all the links that should be involved in the process. Revised versions of the technical regulations have been prepared, and work is underway on a draft provisional rule. We already have public discussions with all interested parties, and the document will be initiated for approval in the near future,” said Tamar Makharashvili.
As for the authorization of general education institutions, as the Deputy Director of the National Center for Quality Development in Education, Kakhaber Eradze, noted, it is necessary to make changes in two legislative acts, such as the authorization regulation and the National Curriculum. Work on the draft legislation is already underway.
“We have already taken a number of steps. The corps of experts has changed. A regulation has been developed on the issue of granting expert status or certification. In parallel, subject matter experts will soon be involved in this process. “Public discussions with schools are planned at the current stage, it will be dedicated to July, but the outline of standards already exists,” – said Kakha Eradze.
After answering the questions of the deputies from the speakers, the chairman of the committee, Giorgi Amilakhvari, said that both presentations showed that there is a vision and a plan, and the ministry has taken effective steps.
