ARMENIAN AND AZERI SCHOOL LEAVERS WILL NEED TO PASS ONLY GENERAL SKILLS EXAMS
The Messenger
Nov 6 2009
Georgia
Armenian and Azeri school leavers who plan to attend Georgian
universities will need to pass only one exam, a General Skills exam,
in the National Exams from next year.
On November 5, at a sitting of the Committee on Education, Science
and Culture, amendments to the Georgian Law on Higher Education was
discussed. The bill aims to increase the accessibility of higher
education in Georgia for those citizens who pass the general skills
exam in the Azeri and Azerbaijani languages. It specifies the creation
of a programme of Georgian language training which will provide
students with the skills and knowledge necessary for higher education.
Reportedly this programme will be financed by the state, its essential
condition being that the students collect 60 credits after a one year
course and continue to study in Georgian.
The Committee also considered the Bill on amendments to the Georgian
Law on General Education initiated by the Georgian Government, at
a second reading. Both bills were presented by Maia Kopaleishvili,
Deputy Minister of Education and Science. Nika Gvaramia, Minister
of Education and Science, participated in the meeting as well. The
Committee supported submitting the bills to a plenary session.
Ruling party MP Khatuna Ochiauri also presented a bill of amendments
to the Georgian Law on General Education for a first reading. This
bill aims to regulate and simplify the rules on directing property
transferred from the state to the public schools. Specifically, if
state property is transferred to schools in the Autonomous Republics,
the right to decide what to do with it must rest with the Ministry
of Education of the Autonomous Republics and not the Ministry of
Education of Georgia. The Committee unanimously supported this change.