2018-09-14
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, dear guests, friends of Georgia!
Today, our country faces numerous challenges, such as the restoration of territorial integrity, economic development, overcoming poverty, social problems, and many others. The most dignified answer to these challenges is an educated Georgia. Modernizing the system of education, the development and introduction of a strong fundamental educational system is the main precondition for Georgia to overcome these obstacles. I have stated before that education, youth, and innovation are the key priorities of my life. Accordingly, today is a very important and emotional day for me. Many of you are aware how important to me personally is the implementation of educational reform, and I promise you that we will see this reform through and produce results that Georgia truly deserves.
This is why today here on this holy ground, within the walls of the Ikalto Academy, my team and I present our vision of educational reform.
The five-year cycle from 2018 to 2023 will see the introduction of core endeavors that will align our educational system with the European system of education.
In autumn 2019, we will propose a legislative package addressing the crucial issue of transforming education into the dominant sector in our economy, making sure that the educational sector enjoys at least 10-11% of our GDP.
No country or economy in the 21st century will be successful without building on the creation of human capital. Consequently, our objective for the educational reform is to put in place human capital in Georgia, to create systems, which will place Georgia among developed economies.
We are also starting to mobile resources for the implementation of this far-reaching project. These resources will be provided by both the governmental and private sectors, the latter already expressing interest in engaging in reforming the system of education. I would like to add that we enjoy full support from international organizations in this process. Many are attending today's event, and I would like to thank them for their invaluable support.
The educational reform will cover five directions: early and preschool education, general education, vocational education, higher education, and science.
Children's development at any age is of vital importance. Special attention will be paid to preschool education, because education at an earlier age will later reflect at subsequent levels of development. Unfortunately, preschool education is not part of the overall educational system today, which is a grievous mistake, which we will surely correct.
Reformed school will focus on students' personal development, innovation, inclusiveness, and national and cultural values.
In 2019, we will start with 50 schools gradually to introduce a new model of learning in our schools. By 2030, this model will be fully adopted by more than 2,000 schools.
We do not want to see only a handful or even dozens of prestigious school in Georgia. All schools in Georgia must meet the highest standards.
This reform will produce a new school model, a mix of the best international experience and Georgia's actual environment, along with the experience of Georgian scientific and pedagogical experience.
The policy for teachers' remuneration will be reconsidered. At the initial stage, in the 2018-2019 academic year, about 10,000 teachers will enjoy a raise, but our ultimate goal is to triple the average schoolteacher salary by 2022.
A strong modern school needs a safe and healthy environment.
A new school principal must be a leader relies on the new model in school management. A new methodology for teaching will be introduced in schools, based on which retrained teachers will tutor their students.
In addition, schools will be authorized to include certain subjects in the methodology.
School infrastructure must be updated to respond to new goals and objectives.
The environment around us is changing rapidly. Given such dynamics, the development of children and adolescents must be adequate to these shifts in order for them to be successful. Accordingly, it is necessary for schools to provide their students with systemic education, teach them creative and critical thinking and innovative approaches.
Of course, a strong modern must imbue its students with national and cultural values, democratic and tolerant values, also developing basic and personal skills.
At the same time, a strong modern school must build on new technology, developing to the best of its ability along with technological advancement.
Vocational education will be one of the most important directions in our reform, focusing on the needs of regional development and rapid employment. We will seek rapidly to increase the number of students in the regions and develop vocational education centers.
In the direction of higher education, we will employ a new model for financing, and integration in the European architecture of higher education will be ensured. Georgia as a regional hub of development implies Georgia's historical role as the center of the region and, at the same time, the educational center of the wider region.
At the same time, a portal for electronic educational resources will be created and the system will employ block chain technologies to ensure a higher degree of reliability, top transparency standards, also saving finances, simplifying relevant processes, and focusing on fast results.
Once again, I would like to emphasize that knowledge is not about accumulating information only; it is about a new approach. Comprehensive knowledge is about creatively processing information and putting it to practice. This is the very approach guiding our reform. Our youth must be equipped with knowledge, broad worldviews and, most importantly, skills to produce public goods.
The fathers of our nation, the founders of the Gelati and Ikalto Academies, along with great enlighteners Vakhtang VI and Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani and their famed successors, such as Ilia Chavchavadze and the members of the Tergdaleulebi group, also the founding fathers of the first democratic republic, saw education as the key driving force behind Georgia's survival, development, and progress.
Georgia is part of European civilization, and we the Georgians have made a tremendous contribution to this civilization. Today, we aspire to rejoin the European family, but it is not an end in itself or dancing to somebody else's tune. It is our civilizational choice, a way for the innermost empowerment of our society, the path we embarked on centuries ago.
In conclusion, I would like to quote Ilia Chavchavadze, a great champion of the introduction European of education and European values in general Georgia.
"Nothing can counter knowledge but knowledge itself. Nothing can save us from poverty but the approach, skills, and strength drawn exclusively from knowledge and education."
Thank you for your time!