2015-02-21
A government meeting chaired by the Georgian Prime Minister, Mr Irakli Garibashvili was held at the Government Administration. The Ministers discussed 21 issues on the agenda of the meeting.
The government approved a draft Resolution on ‘the Approval of Agro Insurance Programme', which aims to contribute to the development of agriculture as well as to support the village population. Crop insurance programme will be put in place allowing farmers to insure their crops at a reasonable price and to receive compensation in case of crop damage. The programme sets forth the maximum amount of insurance premium. 60% of premiums will be subsidized by the government, 40% - by the insurer. The first such programme was piloted in 2014. It was launched on the 1st of September 2014 and in two months' time a total of 15 622 insurance policies was issued and 143 698 111 laris' worth of crop was insured. Based on the study of the pilot programme and the analysis of its pros and cons, the government developed a new agro insurance programme incorporating a series of amendments, in particular, giving a more precise definition of terms, specifying compensation payment conditions; rules of concluding insurance contracts; terms for subsidizing insurance premiums and indemnifying damage. A new clause was added to the programme laying down the right and obligations of the agency and the insurer.
The participants of the meeting also approved a scheme for the entrance into the teaching profession as well as for the teachers' professional development and career advancement. The scheme represents a unified system providing the teacher with training and career advancement opportunities. The scheme also envisages delegating important functions to the school thus increasing the level of its independence. The component of evaluation will be viewed as an important precondition for planning any further action. The absence of this component in the past pointed to the fact that the school was not oriented towards the improvement of teaching results. As far as the system of external evaluation is concerned, discipline-specific exams will remain in place as part of the regulated profession. Like in other regulated professions, in this case too minimum requirements should be determined by the State. The requirement here is that tests are held in specific disciplines and the mechanism for external evaluation of teachers is introduced, a part of which will continue to be carried out at schools.