Georgia schools to be given more autonomy

Georgia schools to be given more autonomy

The Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia has completed the first phase of changes to the national curriculum, giving more autonomy to public and private schools.

From now on schools will create their own evaluation system. The grades assigned according to the school system will then be converted to the 10-point system defined by the national curriculum.

The changes will also affect the hour grid. Each school will determine its own schedule of teaching hours with appropriate justification, taking into account the needs and interests of students, as well as the human and financial resources of the school. The hourly grid given in the national curriculum is only of a recommendatory nature.

• “Nearly half of young people in Georgia say they are neither working nor in school” – FES survey
• One third of youth in Georgia suffer symptoms of depression – UNICEF study

What’s changing:

• What is meant by student-centered, in-depth teaching and learning is clearly defined.
• The principles on the basis of which learning outcomes and intermediate learning goals are formed are defined.
• The principles on the basis of which teachers should conduct assessment are clarified.
• The function and meaning of the school curriculum have been clarified.
• The objectives of the national curriculum are redefined (based on national general education goals, qualifications and competence frameworks for the 21st century).
• The objectives for each subject group have been redefined. Private schools are allowed to determine which subjects they teach to achieve these objectives.
• Methodological guidelines have been removed from the national curriculum.
• Assessment components such as class, homework and summative assessment have been removed). Schools themselves can create an original assessment system and principles.
• If a student’s GPA is below 5.0 in any subject, the school must offer a remedial program before the fall exam.
• The school must also offer a remedial program to students who do not attend school or have a high risk of dropping out. The content of the curriculum is determined by the school itself on the basis of the national curriculum.

The remediation program implies that in the general education setting, the priority issue is to help those students who, for various reasons, cannot properly develop fundamental academic skills. This means reducing or completely solving the existing problem through targeted interventions.

• It is up to the school to determine the timetable with appropriate justification, taking into account the needs and interests of the students and the human and financial resources of the school. The hourly grid given in the National Curriculum is only a recommendation.
• The National Curriculum no longer describes the roles of subject heads and tutors. Schools can decide for themselves what roles members of the school community will fulfill and what the structure of the school will be.
• For foreign nationals enrolled in a foreign language program in a private school, the levels of instruction in the state language are determined according to the year of study (based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).
• In Georgian-speaking classes/schools, the restriction on students from ethnic minorities, which means a requirement to teach the native language if there are 10 students, has been removed. From now on, every pupil studying in the Georgian language will be given the opportunity to study his/her mother tongue on an individual basis.
• Private and public schools may use unmarked textbooks agreed upon with the Ministry of Education.

Georgia schools to be given more autonomy