The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia continues to work on several important projects to improve the quality of distance learning. Minister Mikheil Chkhenkeli spoke about the ongoing projects in this direction during the presentation of the anti-crisis plan.

Mikheil Chkhenkeli: “In September, during the beginning of the new academic year, the main mega-project of Georgian education- Kutaisi International University will start operating. The university will receive the first stream in three specialties, and naturally the number of specialties will increase in the coming future. The project and the original idea of ​​construction this unique university belongs to Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili. It was Mr. Ivanishvili and his family, who donated EUR 1 billion to see this idea come to life.

Kutaisi International University will be a truly European, world-class university and will take our entire country's education system to a qualitatively new, higher level.”

Furthermore, according to the Minister, Microsoft Teams will be translated into Georgian with the support of the Ministry, to ensure a better learning outcome. Additionally, to better evaluate and report the attendance of students during the online lessons, a special e-journal software will be integrated to Microsoft Teams. Concurrently, Minecraft Education Edition pilot program is being introduced to schools.

Mikheil Chkhenkeli: “Yesterday I had an online conversation with the Vice President of Microsoft Education, Mr. Anthony Salcito. It is planned to localize Microsoft, which means translating the entire Microsoft Teams software into Georgian. As for the Minecraft Education Edition, it was planned to introduce the project before the pandemic. This created an additional dimension during the pandemic. It is a unique Microsoft product that allows students to acquire knowledge and develop creative thinking while playing a game. This is an important direction in 21^st century pedagogy. ”

The Ministry, in cooperation with various publishing houses, has provided access to certified e-textbooks for students of both Georgian and non-Georgian language schools. Electronic methodology is being actively developed and integrated into the learning process.

In cooperation with various educational organizations, the Bank for Complex Digital Assignments is being set up, which will be publicly published on the portal EL.GE. 

During the pandemic, the interests of the parents students with special educational needs are also considered. In this regard, the Ministry created a multidisciplinary team composed of 48 psychologists and up to 1,500 special education teachers who will promote distance learning.

In addition, the beneficiaries are remotely served by the Psychosocial Services Center of the Resource Officer of the Educational Institution. There is a 24-hour hotline and a Skype account. Students, their parents, teachers, and school administration staff can fully access the psychological services provided by the Ministry.