Mikheil Chkhenkeli: "Active and productive cooperation between the Government of Georgia and the World Bank will bring tangible and sustainable results for the education system"
Mikheil Chkhenkeli, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, and Sebastian Molineus, World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, announced the launch of a new project today, “Innovation, Inclusive Education and Quality”. The $102.7 million project aims to develop human capital in Georgia by increasing access to preschool education, ensuring quality education and a favorable learning environment. The Minister addressed the audience and spoke about the results that the project will bring to the education system of Georgia.
Mikheil Chkhenkeli: “In recent years, our Ministry has achieved significant progress in reforming the education and science system. The large-scale and comprehensive reform aims to take educational outcomes to an entirely new level and ensure the development of human capital, which is a major prerequisite for economic growth. International support is crucial in this process. On behalf of the Ministry, I would like to express my gratitude once again to international donor organizations for their immense support in achieving sustainable results.
Today's event is yet another clear example of the cooperation to which the Ministry attaches great importance. I would like to draw special attention to the fact that the World Bank Group has been a leading partner of Georgia since 1992. The World Bank Group's Country Partnership Framework envisages support for Georgia in three main areas: strengthening inclusive growth and competitiveness, investing in human capital, and improving country resilience. These areas precisely address the country's core needs.”
Sebastian Molineus, World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus: “We actively support the efforts of the Government of Georgia to promote the development of the younger generation. We believe that innovative, inclusive and high-quality education is essential for the development of human capital in the country and will make it possible to bridge the gap that exists between learning outcomes and labor market expectations in terms of workforce qualifications.”
The project has five main objectives: promoting and increasing access to preschool education; improving teaching quality; improving the higher education financing model and aligning it with international standards; strengthening the system and improving communication between stakeholders; and enhancing project management, monitoring and evaluation systems.
Over the next six years, the infrastructure component of the project will ensure the construction of five new schools, the rehabilitation of approximately 60 existing schools, as well as the introduction of more than 150 child-centered and modern preschool education programs for school readiness. Overall, the project will benefit approximately 116,000 preschool- and general education-age students.
The project will also ensure support for vulnerable groups of the population (students from rural and high-mountainous regions with low socio-economic status), ethnic minorities, and students with diverse educational needs in accordance with the principles of gender equality. Through up to 45 grants allocated for updated academic programs that meet labor market demands, the project will also assist students of higher education institutions.
The project is fully aligned with the World Bank Partnership Strategy with Georgia for 2019-2022 and supports the Government of Georgia in implementing the education reform agenda for 2018-2023. The project was approved by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors on May 29, 2019, and the financing agreement was signed on June 18 of the same year.
