Sebastian Molineus: "I am pleased that a new project is launching through the cooperation between the Government of Georgia and the World Bank"
Mikheil Chkhenkeli, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, and Sebastian Molineus, World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, presented the new project “Innovation, Inclusion and Quality in Education” today. The project, with a budget of $102.7 million, aims to develop human capital in Georgia by increasing access to preschool education, ensuring quality education, and providing a favorable learning environment.
Sebastian Molineus, World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus: “I am delighted that a new project, ‘Innovation, Inclusion and Quality in Education,’ is being launched through the cooperation of the Government of Georgia and the World Bank. In my view, this project will yield significant results in terms of improving Georgia's education system and will assist the Ministry in implementing medium- and long-term reforms. The new project has three key components: first, it aims to improve the quality of education; second, to enhance the qualifications of teachers, as highly qualified and highly motivated teachers who can teach using internationally recognized pedagogical approaches play a vital role in the education system; and third, the infrastructure and technical equipment of educational institutions. We will renovate 60 schools according to modern standards. We will also build new schools. Within the framework of the project, attention will also be paid to the use of modern technologies in the teaching process.
I would like to thank the Government of Georgia for the reform that entails increasing the education budget annually. This is an indication that it cares about human capital development. Also, a big thank you to Mikheil Chkhenkeli, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, for leading this new project.”
The project has five main objectives: promoting preschool education and increasing access to it; improving the quality of teaching; improving the higher education funding model and aligning it with international standards; strengthening the system and improving communication among stakeholders; and improving the project management, monitoring, and evaluation system.
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-focused and modern preschool education programs for school preparation. Overall, the project will benefit approximately 116,000 preschool and general education school students.
