Tamar Sanikidze met with students

According to the Minister, prior to 2013, the student record-keeping system in the database was flawed. For the second consecutive year, all information is reflected in the database, which has made it possible to conduct certain analyses and create a realistic picture of the current state of affairs.

There are various reasons for the suspension of a student's status. As of today, 11,000 students have their status suspended due to financial arrears.  Among them are students who have obtained a 100% grant, yet financial arrears are still indicated as the reason; there are also students whose 100% grant period (4 years) has expired, who failed to accumulate the required credits and must take an additional semester. Furthermore, a large proportion of the 11,000 students with suspended status consists of students with arrears of 10, 20, 30, and 100 GEL, who in certain cases intentionally suspend their student status. It is also noteworthy that in the 2014-2015 academic year, status was suspended by only 137 students.

To facilitate education, the Ministry of Education and Science has implemented numerous measures for students over the past two years, as evidenced by the statistics on status restorations: in 2011, status was restored by 242 students,  in 2012 – by 3,543, in 2013 – by 10,329, and in 2014, nearly 10,000 students have already had their status restored, at a time when the academic year has just begun and the process of status restoration by students is actively ongoing.

As of today, 55% of students are funded by the state. Of these, nearly 21,500 students receive full 100% funding. In 2012, the number of fully state-funded students amounted to only 11,500. This means that the state is fully funding nearly twice as many students.

Taking into account the social conditions of students, the budget of the social program was increased starting in 2013, resulting in twice as many students being funded. Moreover, since 2013, socially vulnerable students in their second and third years, not just first-year students, have been given the opportunity to receive funding under the social program. Additionally, a social program for master's students was launched for the first time in 2013.

The state scholarship budget has been increased since 2013. The number of scholarship-recipient students has doubled. In 2012, scholarships were received by 1,230 students, while in 2013 – by 2,717 students. In the 2013-2014 academic year, a program for doctoral students was launched for the first time. Based on a announced grant competition, 135 doctoral students won study-research grants. For the 2014-2015 academic year, 2,100,000 GEL has been allocated for the implementation of the program.

In light of the above, the measures implemented by the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia allow us to state that the public critical remarks and statements made regarding this issue do not correspond to the truth and do not reflect reality.