Education system in Georgia is controlled by Georgian Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport (MOESCS) and its law which allows everyone in the country to receive at least general education.

Educating system’s structure consists of two stages: first one is the general education which is given to children in secondary schools and only after finishing it one can go and study at a university. But that’s not all, there is much more than just general and higher education which we’ll talk about below in addition with its quality and level as well.

Brief history of Georgian education system

Education in this country has a long and interesting history. Its system had been changed many times and the most interesting period is the 20th century, before and after Soviet Union when Georgia gained independence.

In 1918-1921 Republic of Georgia tried some education reforms and as a result the law about Public Education was established. Since then, many private teaching institutions have been opened and the Government was controlling if all of them were following country’s legislation and protecting teachers’ and students’ rights.

In the Soviet times the main idea was to increase the number of educated people. Many liked the new serious and classical model of the newly discovered education system and soon it received recognition but at the same time this system was proposing a Communism ideology disliked by almost all Georgians. Therefore, the country began to think about the next reform to make further progress and developments in education policy which would be free of corruption.

Pre-school education

Education at the earlier stage of childhood is quite important, therefore before a child starts educating himself and goes to school at the age of 6, he usually has to attend a nursery and a preschool or so-called kindergarten which is not a compulsory. A parent can decide whether he wants to take his child there or not. Like every other educational institution, kindergartens can be public or private. Some parents prefer private and prestigious ones to make sure their child is in good hands and won’t have to worry while they are away.

Schools in Georgia

There are approximately more than two thousand of public and more than two hundred private schools in the country.

Teaching in schools lasts for 12 years. These twelve years are divided into two stages: primary and secondary. Primary or ‘beginner stage’ is the first 4 years of school and the secondary – the rest. If you want to enroll in any university you need a school diploma first for enrolment. Schooling gives average level of knowledge and introduces to each subject. Interesting thing is that compared to other countries, in Georgia school grades and your previous performance don’t play any role in your institutional life. The main idea is to reach upper class which is 12th and finish it successfully. If one doesn’t wish to go to the university, he can quit school after the 9th class and start labor.

Higher education in Georgia

During the last year at school, children hire private teachers and tutors to prepare for the national exams as the level of teaching at school isn’t enough for this. Participation is allowed for anyone who has a school diploma.

Preparing for enrollment

Those who are going to continue their educational lives after schools need to pass 3 main national exams according to the Ministry of Education guidelines and instruction. Two of them are Georgian language and one of the European foreign languages (either English, Russian, German, French). Third exam depends on which faculty or field of studies you are choosing. For example, if you want to study at the medical university you may choose biology, physics or chemistry or if you want to study business you need to choose mathematics as your third subject. These terms apply only on Georgians, foreign students need to have some required documents – English language certificate at least.

After passing all examinations successfully it’s time to choose the right university and faculty based on your score and learning skills. The big percentage of the universities have their own admission and entry requirements, including personal documents.

The students that have the highest grades in all examinations get awarded and receive funding by government that is known as ‘grants’ which can be 50%, 70% or even 100%.

Universities

There are two types of universities: teaching universities and universities. The difference between them is that universities offer three stages of education giving students Bachelor’s degree (4 years of studying), Master’s degree (2 years) and Doctor’s degree (3 years) while teaching universities offer only two: Bachelor’s and Master’s. 

Here is a list of the most famous and highly recommended universities with accreditation in Georgia according to 2020s review and rate. All of them have lecturers that have all the required qualifications:

1) Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) – the first ever university in Georgia based in 1918

2) Ilia State University (Iliauni)

3) Georgian Technical University (GTU)

4) Tbilisi Free University

5) Tbilisi State Medical University (TSMU)

6) Caucasus University (CU)

7) University of Georgia (UG)

8) Tbilisi Agricultural University

9) GIPA

10) Davit Tvildiani Medical University (DTMU)

About ninety-eight percent of Georgian universities are located in the capital city – Tbilisi which makes students from regions move to the capital if their financial situation allows them to do so. But there is a minority of universities that are in other two big cities like Batumi and Kutaisi:

1) Kutaisi International University (KIU) – newly based and opened in 2020

2) Akaki Tsereteli Kutaisi State University

3) Batumi International University

4) Shota Rustaveli Batumi State University

5) Batumi State Maritime Academy

All the universities have the same grading system. Each subject has 100 points in total which is earnt by attending lecture, seminar and writing a final exam, a student needs minimum 51 points to close them.

Tuition fees and expenditure at the public universities are 2,250 GEL, in private ones they start from 3,000 GEL and above.

When a student is enrolled and studies his major field of study but feels like it doesn’t match his interests and concerns him, then he can change his faculty by using mobility offered by universities before beginning of the new semester – in January / February or in June and July. He can either move from one university to another one or just change the faculty but stay at the same university or just simply take an academic year.

Here’s More information about: How to study in Georgia as an international student?

Professional institutions and colleges

Professional educational institutions and colleges are the institutions with enough rights to offer programs that can give you a professional level in very short period of time. But only authorized institutions can give you diploma approved by the State. Authorization procedures happen based on a decision of National Center for Education Quality Development.

Vocational education

In Georgia anyone can apply for a vocational programme where they are offered preparing for a job in fast and easy way with high efficiency. You can either be a student with higher education or just someone who left the school after 9th class.

Institutions for vocational programmes are mainly part of universities. For example, Tbilisi State University has special vocational space for staff, students, teachers and training team.

Conclusion

Not to forget to mention, Georgia has some of the best universities in the Caucasus region where a lot of foreign students come from Asian countries like India to study here which helps economy to grow.

The country has a lot to offer its population and international people as well and develops its education system with efficiency. To sum up, the country has a high-level educational system but it still needs to be improved.