School uniforms, phone ban, standardised textbooks: what Georgia’s education reform includes
Education reform in Georgia
In Georgian schools, students from first to sixth grade will be required to wear uniforms, mobile phones will be banned, and all schools will follow a standardised textbook developed by the Ministry of Education.
These measures are part of an education reform launched by the ruling Georgian Dream party. On 2 December, the party presented the reform concept, and Education Minister Givi Mikanadze outlined its main provisions.
What does the reform involve? Key points:
- From the 2027/2028 academic year, schools will switch to an 11-grade system. Currently, compulsory education lasts 12 years. Students who wish to complete the 12th grade will need to register on a special portal. “Depending on the number of registrants, we will open the 12th grade in specific secondary schools in the relevant cities and municipalities,” explained the education minister.
- The 11th grade in public schools will be specialised, allowing students to study only the subjects they will be examined on in the final exams.
- From the next school year, state schools will admit only children who have turned six by the start of classes on 15 September.
- Over the next two to three years, all textbooks in schools will be replaced, and teaching in all schools will follow a standardised textbook developed by the Ministry of Education.
“The ministry has formed expert groups for different subjects and will take responsibility for developing textbooks and implementing them according to the following standard: one textbook per subject in all schools,” said Givi Mikanadze.
- From the next academic year, students in grades one to six at all public schools will be required to wear uniforms. Socially vulnerable families will receive government support to purchase them.
- Mobile phone use will be banned in schools.
“For students to fully engage in the learning environment, it is important to prohibit mobile phones during lessons. A corresponding rule will be developed and implemented according to the relevant standard. Of course, we will strive to balance this to avoid disrupting learning while still allowing students to communicate with parents or other necessary contacts,” explains Givi Mikanadze.
The planned education reform was announced on 16 October 2025 by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze. He said the current education system does not meet modern challenges and standards and that a European-style system should be established within four years “so that students in Georgia receive the same education as those abroad.”
Local experts have criticised the proposed reform as a repressive change.
More details on the education reform can be found here.
Education reform in Georgia
