Georgian education minister presents Italian as second language programme in schools

Georgian students can now choose Italian as their second language of study in a number of both public and private schools.

Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Mikheil Batiashvili and Ambassador of Italy Antonio Enrico Bartoli have presented a new programme today called, “Italian as a second language”.

“In addition to communicative competence, learning a second language helps you become closely acquainted with a country’s culture and develops friendships between the nations.” Batiashvili said.

With the help of the Embassy of Italy to Georgia, the Ministry of Education has implemented an Italian language teaching programme in 13 public and seven private schools. Representatives of the embassy have provided Italian textbooks to students in schools.

Furthermore, the embassy has allocated an additional sum from its budget for teachers’ salaries and trainings.

Ambassador Bartoli spoke about the long-term friendship and fruitful cooperation between the two countries and emphasised the joint results achieved in the field of education, science, culture and sport.

Furthermore, Mikheil Batiashvili talked about Italian-Georgian relations and joint educational projects. Batiashvili praised existing cooperation and thanked the Italian side for their continued support.