Georgia’s education system to benefit from $14 mln USAID programme to improve quality
The five-year programme will be focused on strengthening the quality of pre-service teacher education programmes, build the capacity of school administrators as instructional leaders, and support implementation of school autonomy policies. Photo: The Georgian Education Ministry
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The United States Agency for International Development and the Georgian Education Ministry have launched a $14 million US Government-funded programme to strengthen Georgia’s education sector and increase education quality and equality in schools, the Agency said on Thursday.
The institution said the five-year programme would be focused on strengthening the quality of pre-service teacher education programmes, build the capacity of school administrators as instructional leaders, and support implementation of school autonomy policies.
Photo from the Georgian Education Ministry's Facebook
In comments at an event for the programme in Tbilisi, Giorgi Amilakhvari, the Georgian Education Minister, highlighted the importance of projects implemented by the Ministry in partnership with the USAID.
One of the main directions of the Ministry is the general education reform - therefore, this project is important and responds to the reforms. […] This is an example of how we cooperate with the programme to ensure that we overcome the challenges existing in general education and improve access to quality education for our children, as well as to raise the qualification of teachers”, Amilakhvari noted.
Erin Elizabeth McKee, the Assistant Administrator in the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia at the USAID, told the event the new educational partnership would help school principals and administrations to become “school leaders”, and pledged the Agency would continue its support for the goals.
New educational partnership between the USAID and Georgia will help school principals and administrators become school leaders, which is a key to academic staff's professional success", Mckee said.
The new programme will be implemented in partnership with Arizona State University, the University of Georgia and One World Network Schools.
The prospects of the existing and future cooperation, including in trade and economics, were reviewed on Thursday by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Erin McKee, the Assistant Administrator in the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia at USAID.
Erin Elizabeth McKee, the United States Agency for International Development Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia, will head the US delegation at the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum, set to run in the Georgian capital between Thursday and Friday.
Over 2,000 primary schools and 23,000 teachers across Georgia, and their students by extension, will benefit from a USAID Basic Education programme launching with the start of the new academic year in the country.
The USAID Basic Education Program focused on interactive learning kicked off in Georgia today. The program aims to help students develop skills in reading, mathematics, critical thinking and problem-solving, establishing the foundation for lifelong success.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday announced his Government would allocate $185 million for the country’s Education Ministry in 2024, from which $59 million would be spent on increasing teachers’ salaries.
Georgia celebrated National Teacher’s Day on Friday for the first time ever in the country’s recent history, awarding the meritorious teachers with the National Teacher Prize and a cash prize of ₾10,000 ($3,710).
Strengthening cooperation between Georgian and American universities for increasing dual international degrees of education programmes in Georgia was discussed in a meeting on Monday between Robin Dunnigan, the Ambassador of the United States to Georgia, and Giorgi Amilakhvari, the Georgian Education Minister.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday presented the Government’s General Education Reform for the country, with plans for updating national education goals to strengthen “national identity” and promote formation of “healthy values” among students.
Giorgi Amilakhvari, the Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, on Tuesday said the country was becoming a member of the Global School Meals Coalition, an initiative aiming to ensure meals for school students across the world by 2030.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday said the 2024 budget for the Ministry of Education and Science would reach ₾2.508 billion ($0.94bln), registering a 300 percent increase compared to the ₾626 million ($234.49mln) allocated to the body in 2012 under the previous Government.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday said creating "broad development opportunities” for young individuals in the country should be a “special concern” of the Government, highlighting the education system for the purpose.
Georgian Education Minister Giorgi Amilakhvari on Tuesday highlighted the Ministry’s initiatives to support youth and enhance their contribution to the state's development while presenting his vision of youth policy to the public.