English teacher in Georgia’s west named teacher of the year

Roland Shavadze, an English language teacher in the Mekeidzeebi village public school in western Georgia’s Khulo municipality, was named the teacher of the year in the country on Wednesday. 

At the awards hosted by the education ministry on International Teacher’s Day, Shavadze received the title and a ₾15,000 ($5,400) money prize, while other top five nominees were awarded ₾5,000 ($1,800) each. 

Education minister Mikheil Chkhenkeli said the annual prize “is truly one of the most outstanding initiatives that serves to promote the profession by appreciating our teachers and increasing their motivation”. 

Shavadze is an alum of the Fulbright cultural exchange programme of the United States, with US ambassador Kelly Degnan noting the diplomatic office’s work for contributing to Georgia’s education systems and teacher training “through dozens of programs” over the past 30 years. 

This is why we are especially delighted that, once again, our Fulbright program alum was named teacher of the year”, she said. 

The national teacher award of the year was established in 2017.