IN 2006 THE COST OF SCHOOL BOOKS INCREASES CONSIDERABLY
Mari Kinsturashvili 2006.09.19 15:30
Daily Georgian Times, Georgia
September 19.09.2006
The 2006-2007 school year starts on Monday, September 18, and while
some parents are busy running from one shop to another or to different
book fairs, others are still hesitating over which school to take
their cherished offspring. And although public school buildings have
been extensively repaired, most of them still are still being rebuilt,
even though the quality of education hasn’t gotten much better.
The high quality of education is one of the reasons why parents decide
to send their children to private schools. There are many private
schools in Tbilisi, which started appearing in the mid 90’s. They have
always had more comfortable conditions compared to public schools,
where pupils and teachers had to choose between freezing to death, or
dealing with the soot, the noxious smell and the smoke of an oil-stove.
Private schools often offered after-school groups, a widely varied
menu and pleasantly comfortable study conditions.
Generally almost all of the Georgian public and private schools cover
grades 1-11. Currently the final year of secondary school is grade
11. However in 2007, in order to become more closely alined with the
Western system, a mandatory grade 12 will be added. 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 Azeri. These schools are
located in the cities and regions, generally where their respective
ethnic groups reside.
There are a limited number of private Georgian schools. Among them
there are: Akhali Skola ("New School"), Atinati, the Educational
Complex – Georgian School, Jejili National School, Mermisi – a Tbilisi
Primary School, and Nakaduli the "School of Tomorrow".
The most well-known private school in Tbilisi is St. George. It is
partly a boarding school and aims at "bringing up intellectual,
morally good and physically strong generations on the basis of
Georgian national traditions, spiritual values and recent pedagogical
experience. Modern methods of teaching and recent technology enable
professional teachers to instill students with the abilities of
self-realization and the desire to protect social interests."
At most private schools, teachers compete heavily for
appointments. Advantage is given to teachers with the highest
corresponding education and professional qualifications. Teachers are
also expected to take students to Sunday mass once a week, as well as
to attend cultural arrangements and exhibitions, arrange excursions,
trips and sports competitions.
Many private schools focus attention on students’ work outside
class. Some offer a camp period, which gives students time to adopt
independent skills, and to get closer and acquainted with each other
and with teachers. This may be important for parents who are still
trying to find that perfect school.
At most private schools, in accord with the current educational
system reform in Georgia, the curriculum may be increased to
twelve years. Unlike public schools, every private school starts
their educational year on a different fixed date, which varies from
September first to October first.
But studying in the private schools is rather expensive. And very
often, as time passes, parents can hardly even afford to prepare for
the school year.
In 2006 the cost of school books and other supplies increased
considerably. Parents sometimes avoid buying books and supplies because
they do not know which classes their child will be in, even the week
before school starts.
In connection with the increasing cost of text books, Iza
Gogichaishvili, sales manager of Aisi, an educational publishing
house told the GT:
"We carefully watch the process, which starts after books are put
up for sale. After the book is put on the market, their price is of
no interest to us. In comparison with the last year, prices for new
text books even for those which have not changed, have considerably
increased."
Tamriko Nachkebia, manager of the Matsne publishing house said:
"In 2006 we received many more orders for new school books than the
previous year. Some prices have increased because printing material
and paper have become more expensive."
Nino, mother of three children told the GT, that she hasn’t started
buying school books yet, as she doesn’t really know what classes
her children will be taking, and is trying to avoid some useless
expenses. "We need no less than 100 GEL, just for the tenth grade text
books. And to prepare her three children for school it would take about
700 GEL, that is practically unaffordable, considering our salaries."
On September 18, when the 2006 school year finally starts, there
will be many happy faces entering school, including the surprised
and frightened eyes of more than a few first-graders. But the smiles
on these faces were achieved by the sleepless nights and hard work
of their parents, who will finally feel a little calm after all the
stress of preparation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
