Convicts, defendants to study remotely at authorised Georgian universities
The Justice and Education ministries signed a memorandum of understanding for the project at the Penitentiary Institution No. 5, the only facility for female inmates in Georgia. Photo: Ministry of Justice of Georgia/Facebook.
Tweet 
Share
Convicts and defendants in Georgia will be able to study remotely at authorised universities in the country, the Ministry of Justice announced on Thursday.
The project will enable individuals in penitentiary institutions to receive remote education in both bachelor’s and master’s level programmes.
The state body called the introduction of e-learning methods and access to higher education “an important step” in ensuring the rights of convicts to education, as well as their socialisation.
The Justice and Education ministries signed a memorandum of understanding for the project at the Penitentiary Institution No. 5, the only facility for female inmates in Georgia.
Reforms in the penitentiary and probation systems under the Justice Ministry, as well as land registration initiative in municipalities across the country were mentioned by Minister Rati Bregadze in his 2021 report on the state body’s work on Friday.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has stated that the situation in Georgian prisons is ‘exemplary’ and that the Georgian Dream government put an end to torture and inhuman treatment of prisoners as soon as they took office back in 2012.
The Georgian Goju-ryu [the main traditional Okinawan style] karate and the basketball federations have gotten involved in a project of the Georgian Justice Ministry which aims to help juvenile convicts in three prisons of Georgia gain new skills.
A bill presented by the Georgian Dream ruling party MPs allows inmates to receive a Master’s degree while in prison as the current law regulates the conditions and procedures only for Bachelor’s degree.“The current law, with the involvement of the Ministry of Education and Justice, offers procedures and conditions only for the Bachelor’s degree for inmates. There are no rules for a Master’s degree,” says the bill.
A digital learning platform Digital University for convicts in penitentiary institutions has been launched for the first time in Georgia, allowing convicted students to remotely receive a comprehensive higher education, attend lectures online and have direct, interactive communication with lecturers, the justice ministry announced on Saturday.
Convicts and employees of the Penitentiary Institution No.16 in the city of Rustavi received diplomas for successfully passing an international examination in French language following a course taught by a prisoner, the Special Penitentiary Service of Georgia said on Monday.
Convicts and employees of penitentiary institutions across Georgia will receive public services at their facilities in a project promoted as a “Georgian innovation” by the Justice Ministry.
Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze on Monday unveiled a new “small-sized, highest European-standard” penitentiary facility designed for 700 convicts in the western Georgian town of Laituri in Guria region.