Ministers make first day of school special for youngsters

Thousands of students returned to school today as Georgia marked the first day of the 2015-2016 academic year, and two Georgian officials found unique ways to mark the occasion.

The country’s Foreign Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili celebrated the day together with pupils from Georgia’s conflict zones.

Kvirikashvili travelled to Abano village, located alongside the Administrative Boundary Line between Georgia’s breakaway Tskhinvali (South Ossetian) region and the rest of the country, and rang the first school bell.

Today FM Kvirikashvili congratulated children in ABL village Abano w/beginning of school #Georgiapic.twitter.com/mWdwDOi9GK

— MFA of Georgia (@MFAgovge) September 14, 2015

"I regret that we are not celebrating the beginning of school together with our Ossetian and Abkhazian children. But I have a great hope that the time will come when it will be possible," he said.

Meanwhile Georgia’s Interior Minister Giorgi Mgebrishvili celebrated the start of the school year with the children of two police officers who were killed on duty earlier this year.

Interior Minister Giorgi Mgebrishvili took the son of a late police officer to school. Photo by the Ministry's press office.

The Minister took the son of late officer Beka Margishvili to school while the daughter of the late policeman Giorgi Beruashvili was taken to school by her father’s police partner.

The children received gifts from the Minister including watches with the inscription: "My father is a hero”.