Tamar Sanikidze - None of the statements made by the National Movement are close to the truth
At a special briefing, the Minister focused on several points regarding which the public needs to have accurate information. Specifically:
According to one of the accusations, it is planned to dismiss approximately 5,000 teachers during the year, which is an illogical claim: “They cite budget figures as an argument. However, the budget allocated for 2015 nowhere indicates the number of teachers for whom these particular budgetary funds are intended,” stated the Minister.
A representative of the National Movement emphasizes the circumstance that the first results of the scheme will be produced in 2017-2018, and consequently, teachers' career advancement and financial situation will be postponed by two years, which is a falsehood, because the salary increase for educators is already accounted for in the 2015 budget. Accordingly, the salary increases for 2016 and 2017 have been approved in regulatory documents.
Regarding teachers holding a doctoral degree, and the claim that only they can occupy the successful teacher career step, the Minister stated that this is also false, because the documents outline that any teacher who has met the requirements envisaged by the first two steps can take up the third, leading teacher position.
In response to the accusation that the scheme supposedly does not take into account the situation of certified teachers who are not currently active in the profession, the Minister stated that this is also false, since a large part of the scheme regulates entry into the teaching profession in general and alternative pathways of entry.
The Minister called it regrettable when politicians refer to the school evaluation group as a bureaucratic mechanism. According to her, the school evaluation group is a group comprised of teachers, the head of studies, facilitators elected by teacher chairs, and principals, who will implement the evaluation component within the school.
