Minister met with Azeri and Armenian 12th graders
Quotas are defined specially for Azeri and Armenian entrants for the 2012 national unified exams; they are asked to take a general ability test in their own languages (Azeri and Armenian), on the basis of which the students are enrolled at preparatory programs. Furthermore, Azeri and Armenian students will take a year long intensive course in Georgian Language; afterwards, they will be enrolled at the universities of their choice.
Today, the Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, Dimitri Shashkini, met Azeri and Armenian 12th graders at Tbilisi State University and discussed with them the details of the program.
The program was fully launched last year and up to 300 entrants benefited from it; in comparison, only three students participated in the program in 2010. The students receive state funding according to the results of their general ability test; their state grants are retained for the full duration of the students' academic studies.
This program, supporting the ethnic minority entrants in receiving a higher education, is one of the priority programs of the Ministry. Representatives of the Ministry regularly organize meetings in ethnic minority regions in order to promote this program.
Receiving a higher education in native language proves to be an effective mean of building a career for the ethnic minority population. More students are taking an interest to study the state language in order to take the unified exams in the Georgian language.
