Sector Analysis

Background

In the Former Soviet Union, Georgia’s excellent educational institutions contributed to its reputation of having outstanding “human resources” with worldwide accomplishments in the spheres of medicine, science & technology as well the humanities and arts. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the entire educational system deteriorated due to many factors, including lack of government funding and widespread corruption. In 2004/2005 the Georgian Government, supported by international funding and expertise, began a sweeping initiative to reform the entire educational sector to improve the quality of education and to eliminate the corruption. (See below for details on Education Reform)

General Level of Education

Enrolment in Educational Establishments

Pre-Schools  (referred to as Kindergarten in Georgia for Ages 2 – 5)
Georgia has a system of public and private schools for children up to the age of 5. The 2 international private pre-schools are QSI and the “New School” in Tbilisi (see below for contact details).

Elementary, Middle & Secondary Schools(Grades 1-12)
Almost all of the Georgian public and private schools cover grades 1-12. Previously, the final year of secondary school was grade 11. However in the 2007/2008 academic year, in line with the Western system, a mandatory grade 12 was added.  Management for schools is now determined by an election process based on testing carried out by the Ministry of Education.

In addition to the majority of Georgian (language) public schools, there are also a number of public schools available to students where the language of instruction is other than Georgian, e.g. Russian, Armenian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, French, German, and Azerbaijani. These schools are located in the cities and regions, generally where ethnic groups reside.

Public Secondary Education

There are a very limited number of private Georgian schools. The most well-known private school in Tbilisi is St. George. www.ardzani.ge

Although not private, there is a Math (Magnate) School in Tbilisi for Georgian students that excel in mathematics. Within the Institute of Physics there is a private school for Georgian students that excel in the field of physics.

A few international private schools in Tbilisi are:

• American Academy (English) www.aat-edu.org
• QSI (English) www.qsi.org
• New School International School of Georgia (English) www.newschoolgeorgia.com tel: (+995-32) 23-17-28
• Privet Demirel School (Turkish/English) tel: (+995-32) 75 44 94
• School of Tomorrow (English) www.mark4harvest.org
• Waldorf School (German/Georgian) tel: (+995-32) 30 54 03

 

Higher Education (Universities or post-secondary)
There are many public and private universities throughout Georgia, providing undergraduate degrees and postgraduate degrees. The largest university in Georgia is Tbilisi State University, with multiple fields of education (or faculties) and degrees. There are also separate public (state) universities for a number of faculties, i.e. Pedagogical, Technical, Medical, Agriculture, Language & Culture and Zoological (or Veterinary). The number of licensed/accredited universities was drastically reduced in the education reform initiative (see below). However, there have been some new additions with the total of licensed/accredited universities being 53 for January 2008.  It should also be noted that there are a number of non-accredited universities in Georgia which accommodate over 70,000 students. The degrees from these non-accredited universities are not recognized by the Georgian government.

Enrollment in the undergraduate university system (both public and private) is strictly controlled via a standardized (or unified) national exam (UNE) system consisting of compulsory tests in: 1) Georgian (language and literature); 2) Foreign Language; 3) Skills (logical analysis); and, depending on the faculty, optional tests in: 4) Math; 5) History & Geography; and 6) Biology, Chemistry, & Physics.

Students with the highest scores are provided free or discounted (100%, 70%, 50%, 30%) undergraduate education by the state or students can apply the scholarship to (licensed/accredited) private university tuition.  As each university is limited in the number of students it can accept into each faculty, the entrance to each faculty is also dependent on the entrance exam scores. (For the 2007/2008 academic year, over 39,000 students took the UNE to compete for approximately 15,500 openings in accredited universities.)

In addition to the state universities, there are many private (or semi-private) universities throughout Georgia, many with the language of instruction other than Georgian. Some of the more popular universities located in Tbilisi are:

• British Academy (English) – tel: 995-32-36 42 78
• Caucasus University (English and Georgian) – Multiple Faculties,  www.cu.edu.ge
• European School of Management (English and Georgian) – Business,  www.esm-tbilisi.ge
• Georgian American University (English & Georgian) – Business & Law,  www.gau.edu.ge
• Georgia Institute of Public Administration (English) – Public Administration & Law, www.gipa.ge
• The University of Georgia (previously Georgian. Univ. of Social Sciences) (English and Georgian) – Multiple Faculties,  www.ug.edu.ge
• International Black Sea University (Turkish) – Multiple Faculties, www.ibsu.edu.ge
   

Many of the private universities above also provide “Certificate Courses” focusing on professional training. Other organizations that also offer professional training are:

• Georgian Business Development Center (GBDC) www.gbdc.iberiapak.ge
• Tbilisi Business Service Center (TBSC) www.tbsc.ge
• Partners.ge www.partners.ge
• Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG) www.csrdg.ge
  State Higher Education
  

Private Higher Education

Other Schools & Institutes

Colleges & Prep Schools – Although these are not now common in Georgia, there is a public Medical College that prepares students for Medical University.
Language Schools - Private:

• International House (English) www.ihworld.com
• Foreign Languages Study Center (formerly International Language Academy)     (English/German) tel: 995-32-22 06 40
• Education & Training International (ETI) (English) tel: 995-32-25 09 45
• English Language Center (English) tel: 995-32-22 23 26
• International Center for Georgian Language (Georgian/Russian) www.icgl.org

Regulatory Oversight www.mes.gov.ge

The Georgian Ministry of Education and Science is responsible for licensing and accreditation of all schools and universities (except for language schools). The Ministry’s initiative for education reform is a broad, multi-year program with 3 basic goals:

1. World standards for Georgian education

2. Eliminate corruption in the education system

3. Fair and honest treatment of all students based on academic criteria

Georgia is also a new member of the Bologna Process which is a European process for setting university standards.

Three general laws have been passed: Law of General Education (April 2006); Law of Higher Education (December 2005); and the Law of Vocational Education (April 2007). Another law is in development to regulate the legal education process.

 

 

AmCham and/or EUGBC Members

Junior Achievement Georgia
Tel: +995 (32) 251 813
Website: http://www.ja.org/near/nations/georgia.shtml
Junior Achievement Georgia (JAG) is one of 113 Member Nation Affiliates of Junior Achievement Worldwide, the world's oldest and largest not-for-profit organization devoted to promoting an understanding of the principles and values of enterpreneurship and the free market system by sponsoring programs of free economic education that involve the participation of both educators and business people. JAG combines Georgian's traditional love and respect for educational excellence with proven techniques of economic and civil education developed by Junior Achievement Worldwide.

Caucasus School of Business
Tel: +995 (32) 941 691
Website: http://www.csb.ge
Founded in late 1998 by Tbilisi State University, Georgian Technical University, Tbilisi State Institute of Economic Relations with partnership of Georgia State University (Atlanta, USA) Caucasus School of Business provides university level education in economics. CSB offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in Business Administration, short-term certificate courses and training programs.

Georgian American University
Tel: +995 (32) 771 135
Website: http://www.gau.edu.ge
Georgian American University (GAU) as the only American-owned university in Georgia and provides a true western-style education with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and certificate and preparatory courses in business and law. GAU is committed to providing the best possible academic programs a nd facilities to meet the needs of the students and the business, governmental and legal communities.

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