Mikheil Chkhenkeli to Inform the Public about Future Plans for Early and General Education
Mikheil Chkhenkeli, Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, held a presentation on the 10-year development of MES. He spoke about planned innovations in ECE and General Education. The Minister introduced the support programs developed by the Ministry in terms of ensuring access to quality education to the attending public.
The Minister focused on enhancing early development and education and noted that the Ministry has already taken several important steps in this direction. At this stage, bilingual education is implemented in the system, which will help create an educational environment tailored to the needs of ethnic minorities in preschools. As for the support of teachers, according to Mikheil Chkhenkeli, in 2021, vocational education institutions began to implement the professional program of preschool teachers. In addition, it is planned to gradually increase their salary.
The Minister emphasized the role of the teacher in the process of bringing up the next generations. He noted that one of the top priorities of the Ministry is to enhance the teacher’s qualifications. To this end, the Ministry has started revising the teacher professional development scheme. The teachers will be actively engaged in the process. The development of school culture and environment has an important role in improving students’ academic performance and shaping them as individuals. The Ministry is developing a new model of the school management system and strengthening resource centers. A new school management model is under development. A model of differentiated management of schools is being developed, which envisages strengthening General Education Institutions and giving them more autonomy. A gradual increase in the salary of the school administration is also envisaged.
The Minister stressed the need to develop alternative models of student assessment in terms of quality education, the introduction of bilingual education and high-quality textbooks and modern teaching methods.
To create a modern learning environment in schools, introducing the third-generation national curriculum, which involves changing the teaching methodology and promoting the development of critical, complex thinking in students, is already underway, considering the Estonian and Finnish experience. A clear example of improving teaching methodology is the implementation of the Minecraft Education Edition in schools.
The Minister noted while implementing the National Curriculum, special attention is paid to the formative assessment of students, which enables in-depth assessment of students’ strengths and weaknesses. The Ministry is actively developing alternative assessment models. All the stakeholders are engaged in the discussion.
Implementing bilingual education in the schools will support strengthening the integration of national minorities. It will and enhance the development of bilingual human capital. It is also important that the MES takes effective steps to develop digital textbooks and additional educational resources.
Mikheil Chkhenkeli also spoke about the improvement of the infrastructure of General Education Institutions and the importance of their internetization. As he said, 174 public schools have been built since 2012, 257 public schools have been fully rehabilitated. The building and rehabilitation of schools are still active.
As a result, by 2026, all the schools throughout Georgia will infrastructurally be in working order. Also, by 2026, the process of internetization and material and technical equipment will be completed in all public schools throughout Georgia and modern sports infrastructure will be provided in schools, which will contribute to the development of a healthy lifestyle among young people.
The General Education reform is in full compliance with the new school authorization standard. For the first time in the history of Georgian Education, all schools will be authorized. The process will end before the 2026-2027 academic year.
The Minister also focused on a safe educational environment for students. In this regard, the process of providing General Education institutions with medical rooms has begun, as well as strengthening the social component in schools, which means increasing the number of social workers in the education system. The number of resource officers will also increase to ensure a safe school environment.
According to Mikheil Chkhenkeli, the children left beyond the school are a subject of special care for the Ministry. As a result of intensive work, their number was significantly reduced. The Minister noted that the Ministry is developing an effective system to identify children left beyond school promptly.
Mikheil Chkhenkeli thanked the Government of Georgia for supporting the development of Early and General education. The Minister noted that the government’s decision to implement General Education reform in the coming years will significantly increase funding for the sector. In 2030 the General Education budget will exceed 2 billion 230 million GEL.