Mikheil Chkhenkeli: "The Ministry not only helped to overcome the crisis, but also created new opportunities for education"
The Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, Mikheil Chkhenkeli took part in the "Virtual International Summit on Learning (ISTP)" organized by the International Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) and the International Education Association (EI). To overcome the COVID-19 crisis in the field of education, representatives of different countries shared their experiences and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation.
Mikheil Chkhenkeli: “Thank you for organizing such an important summit! I am sure that exchanging information, sharing experiences from different countries is especially useful and will yield fruitful results. I would like to point out that COVID-19 has created an unprecedented reality for the governments of all countries. Nevertheless, the Georgian education system has been able to effectively shift towards distance learning. The ministry has helped not only to overcome the crisis, but also to create new opportunities for education.”
Moreover, Mikheil Chkhenkeli spoke about several projects implemented by the Ministry, resulting in a continuous and uninterrupted flow of education. The Minister singled out the project "TV School” created in cooperation with the Public Broadcaster, where lessons provided by the National Curriculum are conducted by experienced teachers in various subjects. When planning the lessons, the interest of students with special educational needs was considered, therefore all transmissions are provided by a gesture translator.
Additionally, the Minister spoke about the project "Web School" created especially for the entrants, which helps them to prepare for the national exams. As well as emphasizing the project "iSchool", which acts as a complex homework assignment generated for the students of 1-12 grade. The assignments will be posted on the following website: https://www.el.ge/.
In his speech, the Minister also underlined the special enthusiasm displayed by the teachers and professors in implementing “TV School”. During the COVID-19 crisis, teachers undoubtedly faced a great challenge, which they coped with exceptionally. In his words: “a qualified teacher is of special importance for quality education, along with outstanding curriculum, modern infrastructure and relevant technologies”.
Maia Kobakhidze, President of the Free Trade Union of Teachers and Scientists of Georgia also attended the summit. The Minister thanked the Free Trade Union of Teachers and Scientists of Georgia and noted that close cooperation will continue in the future.
Furthermore, Andreas Schleicher, Director of the Education Directorate of the International Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD), once again highlighted Georgia when discussing examples from different countries and praised the projects implemented in the country.
The Virtual International Summit on Vocational Training (ISTP) was attended by the Ministers of Education of 16 countries, Deputy Ministers, education experts, trade union representatives and other important stakeholders.
