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GEORGIA

BASIC DATA
Official Country Name:	Republic of Georgia
Region:	East & South Asia
Population:	5,019,538
Language(s):	Georgian, Russian, Armenian, Azeri, Abkhaz
Literacy Rate:	99%
Number of Primary Schools:	3,201
Compulsory Schooling:	9 years
Public Expenditure on Education:	5.2%
Foreign Students in National Universities:	69
Libraries:	3,929
Educational Enrollment:	Primary: 293,325
	Secondary: 444,058
	Higher: 163,345
Educational Enrollment Rate:	Primary: 88%
	Secondary: 77%
	Higher: 42%
Teachers:	Primary: 16,542
	Secondary: 57,963
	Higher: 25,549
Student-Teacher Ratio:	Primary: 18:1
	Secondary: 8:1
Female Enrollment Rate:	Primary: 88%
	Secondary: 76%
	Higher: 44%

HISTORY & BACKGROUND

The Republic of Georgia has a long and difficult history that began in the Middle Ages. Georgia was an independent nation before and after its incorporation into the Russian sphere of influence, which has occurred twice in its history. It is once again a sovereign nation, a highly independent country that did not choose to join the Council of Independent States after the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Like many nations that were incorporated into the Soviet Union in the twentieth century, for much of its recent history, Georgia was considered simply a region of the USSR. Before it became associated with the Soviet Union, it was taken into the Russian Empire in the nineteenth century. In 1918, at the time of the Russian Revolution, Georgia became an independent nation, and remained so until 1921. In that year, the Republic of Georgia was forced to become a part of the USSR. In the 1990s, the era of perestroika in Russia and the nations that were once called its satellites, the Republic of Georgia was one of the first countries to break away from the Soviet Union and declare its independence. It became a sovereign nation once again in 1991.

Despite its tense and complex relations with Russia, several of Russia's most important twentieth-century leaders were Georgians. Joseph Stalin, the Russian premier before, during, and after World War II, was from Georgia. So was Eduard Shevardnadze, the foreign minister of the USSR during its breakup, who later became President of Georgia shortly after it gained its independence. Lavrenty Beria, who lived from 1899 to 1953, was Stalin's head of the secret police (or KGB), and was also a Georgian. Despite his origins, he was especially brutal against Georgian dissidents. Beria was assassinated by the Russian administration that succeeded Stalin after his death.

Geography & Population: Although not well known to foreigners, Georgia has a distinctive character and significant national unity. It has its own primary language as well as several other languages that are used in special regions and by minority groups. Its culture, including its dance, music, and art, is significantly different from other formerly Soviet nations.

Georgia is a truly Caucasian nation—a nation that is located in the Caucasus region of the European and Asian continents. The Caucasus mountain range is located between the Caspian and Black seas; its northern parts are in Europe and its southern regions, which border Turkey and Iran, are in Asia. The Republic of Georgia's location is in southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea. Geographically, it falls between Turkey and Russia and is therefore influenced by both Europe and Asia. Georgia covers 69,700 square kilometers (26,911 square miles), which is about the size of South Carolina. The climate is warm and pleasant, similar to the Mediterranean region.

There are many natural resources, including forests, iron and copper, some coal and oil, and soil that can be used to grow tea and citrus. A good portion of the nation is woodlands and permanent pastures. Air and water pollution, lack of sufficient amounts of potable water, and some soil pollution from toxic chemicals are among the environmental problems the country faces.

The people of Georgia are many and are diverse: the total population is 5.4 million. About 70 percent of the people are Georgian, but 80 other nationalities and groups make up the balance. Some 6.3 percent are Russian, 5.7 percent are Azeris, 3 percent are Ossetes, 1.9 percent are Greek, 1.8 percent are Abkhazians, and 0.5 percent are Jewish. Two of these minority groups, Azeris and Abkhazians, have their own republics within the Georgian Republic. The urban population stands at 56 percent, while 44 percent live in rural areas. Life expectancy for men is 69.43 years and 76.95 for women, with an average for the whole population of 73.1 years. About half the population, or 2.76 million people, are in the labor force. Industry and construction employ 31 percent of workers, while 25 percent are in agriculture and forestry. The unemployment rate is about 14.5 percent.

Although there are other religions, the great majority of the people of Georgia, over 80 percent, are Christians. Most of them (65 percent) are Georgian Orthodox, 10 percent are Russian Orthodox, and 8 percent Armenian Orthodox. Eleven percent are Muslim, and the nations that surround the Republic of Georgia are generally majority Muslim. This predominant Christianity is one of the bases for the close relations between the Republic of Georgia and Western nations, including the United States.

Language: Language is a central issue in any educational system and the languages of Georgia are different from those of the rest of the world. The Caucasus region is also the source of the Caucasian languages, of which there are some 40. Only Georgian, however, is considered a modern language. There is some dispute about the nature of the language. Some sources call it part of the Indo-European language group. Others, however, say that Georgian is not a part of that group or of the Finno-Ugric or Semitic language families, arguing that it is part of the Ibero-Caucasian or Kartvelian language group.

The Georgian language probably evolved around the fifth century B.C. It has 33 characters, distinctive word formations, and complex rules governing its use of verbs. Many of the Georgian words place several consonants together with few intervening vowels. The name of the capital city, Tbilisi, is an example. Although the official language of the nation is Georgian, in some regions people also use Megruli and Chanuri. All three languages derived from Old Kartvelian. Several other regional languages are also in modern use.

Georgia's multiplicity of languages dates to ancient times, when there were so many languages used in the nation that Romans needed 130 interpreters to do business there. Because of its long association with Russia, a modern visitor can typically navigate in the nation by using Russian. But those who speak neither Russian nor Georgian need to engage interpreters: few in the population speak other languages, except for specific ethnic languages.

Political, Social, & Cultural Context: Georgia is a member of the United Nations and many international compacts. It has close ties to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, both of which help the nation more fully develop its economy and, in the case of the World Bank, its educational system, as explained more fully in the summary.

Although Georgia is no longer subservient to Russia and has its own democratic government, there are Russian troops at military bases in Georgia. They serve as peacekeepers in two regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which are separatist and sometimes threaten to break with the Republic of Georgia.

The United States and the Republic of Georgia have strong diplomatic relations and work closely together. Georgia receives the second largest amount of per capita assistance, among all the world's nations, from the United States. According to former Secretary of State James Baker, Georgia became important to the United States because it provided an opportunity to influence the institutions formed in the wake of the fall of the Communist Soviet Union. Moreover, Georgia was important because of Eduard Shevardnadze, Georgia's president, who was thought to be heavily involved in ending the Cold War. According to Baker, that era in world history would not have ended in a peaceful way without Shevardnadze, whom Baker considered a hero.

Post-Soviet Georgia is attempting to move the economy and the people toward a market economy that could be connected with Western institutions. Recent developments include an efficient telephone system, including cell phones, and delivery from Federal Express. Georgian food remains popular, but French, Chinese, and other national cuisines are also available in the Republic.

The Georgian economy has demonstrated annual growth rates of about 3.5 percent in recent years, although 60 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. A key problem is the inflation rate for consumer prices, which stands at 19 percent. Another problem has been the inability to collect all the taxes that they levy, and there are continuing problems with tax evasion and corruption. Moreover, the nation lacks sufficient energy, despite extensive hydroelectric power and the exportation of some electricity. Because they lack adequate oil and coal, they must import energy sources. Nonetheless, some hopeful projections anticipate that economic growth could nearly double in the twenty-first century.

Historical Development: With free and compulsory schooling a part of Georgia's educational tradition, the nation's population is generally well educated. The nation of Georgia has a long history of attention to higher education; according to one authority, the Georgian population was the most highly educated of all the peoples under the USSR. One indication of the careful attention and expenditure of resources on education in Georgia is the number of physicians: there are 53.7 physicians for every 10,000 people in the nation. Moreover, a third of the working population of Georgia has some form of higher education or specialized middle education. This compares favorably to the United Kingdom, in which 11.2 percent of the population have some form of specialized education, and also to Japan, where 14.2 percent of the population have higher or other specialized education.

The history of education in Georgia dates from as early as the Middle Ages. Monasteries and academies functioned as vital centers of learning, which was important to the people of the nation because they assisted in preserving their national heritage when they were occupied by other cultures. By 1915, just prior to the Russian Revolution, there were 1,648 schools of all types in Georgia. In spite of that, most Georgians were illiterate. However, the era of Soviet connection increased the quantity of mass education and illiteracy was basically eliminated. The definition of literacy used by Georgia is the proportion of the population age 15 and over who can read and write. The total population is, therefore, 99 percent literate. One hundred percent of the men, according to Georgian government estimates, are literate, and 98 percent of females are literate.

Because of changes in the government in the 1990s, the education system of Georgia also changed dramatically. For example, in the era of the Soviet Union, the government provided for free education at all stages for all people. In post-Soviet Georgia, only nine years of primary education are compulsory and free for all; higher levels of secondary schools and the universities are free only for 30 percent of students, while others pay tuition. Perhaps the most significant change has been the granting of autonomous status to higher education institutions, which occurred in 1992.

CONSTITUTIONAL & LEGAL FOUNDATIONS

The first president of the Republic after the Soviet era was Zviad Gamsakhurdia. After a period of disorder in which Gamsakhurdia was forced to flee and ultimately died, President Shevardnadze was elected by popular vote for a five-year term and was re-elected in 2000.

The country has a legislature, referred to as Parliament, which is unicameral—that is, it has only one house—and the members serve four-year terms. There are 235 members. The judicial branch is a supreme court, which is elected by Parliament on the recommendation of the president.

With regard to education, Article 35 of the Constitution of the Republic of Georgia states:

• Each citizen has the right to education and freedom of choice in education is recognized.
• The state guarantees that educational programs conform to international standards and rights.
• The state guarantees preschool education. Primary education is mandatory for all, and the state provides free primary education. Citizens also have the right to free secondary, professional, and tertiary education at state institute, within the framework and by the rules established in law.
• The state supports educational institutions by the right established in law.

EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM—OVERVIEW

Public education in Georgia is comprised of the following categories: kindergarten, ages 2-5; elementary school, grades 1-4; secondary school, grades 5-9; and upper secondary school, grades 10-11. The system of kindergarten has largely collapsed, however, and has become increasingly privatized. Attendance is now a sign of prestige and, according to a World Bank report (Perkins 1998), only 20 percent of eligible children attend. There are plans to introduce a grade 12, but financial constraints have prevented any progress thus far.

Education is not limited to general day schools; there are also boarding schools for children with disabilities and "Youth Palaces" for an intensive study of such subjects as art, music, drama, and dance. In 1993 the first school for internally displaced persons (IDP schools) opened for elementary, secondary, and high school education. Both the teachers and students are IDPs; 90 percent of students must be IDPs, and the remaining 10 percent are local children.

The school year officially begins in September and ends in June, but the number of official school days is close to 150 due to numerous holidays and breaks throughout the year. Principals may decide to close school altogether during part of the winter due to lack of heat and electricity, or during harvesting season in the agricultural regions. A typical school day generally lasts from seven hours in upper school to as little as three hours in primary school. Schools use a two-semester schedule.

Examinations, Promotions, & Certifications: Students progress to the next grade based on their teachers' recommendations. The decision is made according to written work and participation throughout the year. Instead of being assigned a letter grade, students are rated on a scale of one to five, with five being the best. Students rarely fail or repeat a grade.

Every student in Georgia completing secondary school takes the exit exam, comprised of both oral and written assessment on the same day at the same time. The Minister or Deputy Minister of Education announces the essay questions via radio and television to eliminate the possibility of obtaining questions or answers beforehand. Whatever precautions are used before the test to ensure equity are lost in the grading. The exams are graded by members of a panel that includes the student's teacher. Because it is the individual student's teacher who ultimately records the grades and turns them in, the process is ripe for corruption and bribery. Additionally, no school wants to fail students or provide an excuse for further faculty or staff cuts. Annual examinations can also be held after the fourth grade, and many schools use that opportunity to test and evaluate students.

Because Georgia currently lacks national assessment standards for the exit exams, college entrance exams have been instituted. Although passage of exit exams is nearly universal, the rate of students passing the college entrance exams is markedly reduced. Students who want to continue their education thus often hire tutors to prepare for the exam. A World Bank reform project, discussed in detail in the Summary, would ensure national grading standards for exit exams by impartial judges, allowing for the elimination of the unpopular entrance exams. Universal testing at the secondary level and elimination of college entrance exams would improve the quality of students, especially those with financial constraints.

Only about 70 percent of pupils are accepted to higher education institutions. Students who do not successfully move to the next stage after completing secondary or high school can attend vocational and technical schools.

Educational Style & Textbooks: As Georgia tries to distance itself from a Russian curriculum, it still holds on to Soviet educational methodology. Education is content-based and focuses on memorizing facts, lectures, and texts, rather than analyzing subjects and teaching students critical thinking, which is more common in Western educational systems. A typical class begins with the review of homework and the material covered in the previous class, after which students recite the passages read or concepts learned word-for-word from the text. The teacher then explains a new concept and goes over exercises that students will take for homework. Then the teacher may review previous material covered or use the time to talk about what was learned during class. Reading, repeating, and recalling is the standard drill.

Each class lasts about 45 minutes, though in the rural regions classes may be shorter during the winter due to the cold and the lack of fuel to heat school facilities. There is a growing argument that such a curriculum doesn't adequately prepare students for university study and should be modified. Students who go on to study at universities usually have had extensive private tutoring throughout school.

Study of even the most basic topics has become difficult, however, as many students and teachers do not have textbooks. Government policy dictates that students supply their own school texts and supplies. Textbooks are quite expensive and often out of reach for many parents, especially in rural regions. Often the costs of purchasing texts for one child exceed the family's monthly income. The textbooks that are available are often in very poor condition, as the Ministry of Education encourages printers to keep costs low by using inexpensive, poor quality material and smaller type. Students who can afford to may buy several copies of each book because they have such a short life span. Relying on secondhand books is not always an option, as they are often in Russian and do not reflect the new Georgian curriculum and ideas. The Ministry of Education estimates textbook availability to be anywhere from 40 to 75 percent for elementary schools, 40 to 60 percent for secondary, and 25 to 30 percent for upper secondary grades. Plans for textbook reform are also part of the World Bank project.

Enrollment: Accurately estimating the number and percentage of children enrolled in schools is difficult, as no recent official data has been published, and the organizations collecting information use different methods for doing so. Moreover, some poorer families don't register the births of their children until they are old enough to attend school in order to delay the cost of registration.

Estimates for the 1997-1998 school year indicate 926,000 students enrolled in all levels of the Georgia educational system. In 1997, about 87 percent of children eligible for first grade were enrolled. This marks a decline in enrollment since Georgia gained its independence in 1991. Some suggest that the decline might be as large as 20 percent for primary school. The starting age for school was lowered from seven to six years and grade nine is now compulsory, which should raise the level slightly. The dropout rate is about 4.3 to 5 percent in elementary school, 5.4 percent in incomplete secondary, and 9.9 percent at the upper secondary level.

PREPRIMARY & PRIMARY EDUCATION

Preprimary Education: The Georgian government works to develop the personality of children through pre-school programs. There are two types of preschool programs: nursery schools for babies age one and two, and kindergarten for children age three to six. In 1989, during the Soviet period, preschool was free, and 42 percent of eligible children attended kindergarten. In that year, there were 2,431 preschool programs with 213,396 pupils, or an average of 87 children per institution.

By 1993, there were 1,921 preschool institutions with 105,975 students, or 55 pupils per institution. By 1995 there was a further decrease to 1,272 institutions serving 79,200 pupils, or 62 pupils per institutions. Prior to the breakup of the Soviet Union, preschool institutions were established at factories and other organizations, and children of employees were cared for during working hours in those institutions. The economic depression following Georgia's independence made that impossible, and the number of preschools in factories and other work sites decreased from 805 to 47. In addition, during the Soviet period, food was given to preschool institutions, while after independence schools were required to pay for their own food.

Private kindergartens have developed to replace the official or governmental schools that existed prior to the change in government and the economic crises. There are also many nonregistered preschool institutions operating in private apartments. The government does not have specific data about these schools, though some estimates of the total enrollment in kindergartens of all kinds suggest that in 1997-1998, approximately 926,000 students were enrolled in public and private kindergartens. By contrast, the government reports its kindergarten enrollment for that year at 75,000. Other sources suggest that kindergarten is much less than universally available, and that it is a sign of prestige and privilege to send one's children to kindergarten.

The preschools are open from September through August. Many charitable organizations are also establishing preschools for younger children. The state-operated preschools receive some subsidy from the government, but parents are expected to pay part of the cost.

Primary Education: The Georgian government attempts to keep records on the percentage of children who enroll in school, compared to the data on births. In 1997, nearly 89 percent of children born in 1991 (and thus of school age) had enrolled in first grade. For the period from 1990 through 1998, there were 512,256 children in grades one through six. That number dropped for the 1995-1996 school year to 429,864. In 1996-1997, primary school enrollments were 435,797. In 1997-1998, the figure was 442,265.

Students in the primary grades study about 7 subjects, compared to 15 in the upper grades. Primary school subjects include native language study, math, fine arts, music, physical education, natural studies, Russian, and literature. All grades also have a free period for extracurricular activities, but the Ministry of Education plans to introduce new courses in religion and culture, which may take up this time. The school day is approximately three hours in the primary grades.

The methodological approach in all disciplines is highly teacher and textbook centered, rather than attempting to engage children through more active learning or research-oriented activities. In the fourth grade, for example, educational strategy focuses on copying, solving exercises with the teacher or individually, applying rules, and recalling.

As Georgia tries to distance itself from its Soviet legacy, the ministry is placing more emphasis on humanities, specifically Georgian history and culture, and less on math, science, and Russian. They have increased the number of hours spent studying foreign languages, humanities, the history and geography of Georgia, and Georgian language and literature. The constitution requires schools to provide education in the Georgian, Russian, Armenian, Azeri, Ossetian, and Abkhazian languages. Georgian is by far the predominant language of instruction, however, especially since many Russians have migrated back to Russia, and South Ossetia and Abkhazia have declared their separation from Georgia.

SECONDARY EDUCATION

In 1997-1998 there were about 275,000 students in the country's two divisions of secondary education. The lower division is called basic, or secondary. The higher level is called upper secondary, or high school. The basic level consists of grades 7 through 9, and the higher level is grades 10 and 11. There is some hope of adding a twelfth grade in the future. Education is compulsory, as mentioned earlier, through ninth grade.

An assessment of the primary teaching activities for ninth graders found that:

• They consist of low cognitive complexity level tasks.
• They are centered on the text and not on transferring potential to other learning activities.
• They do not foster understanding or promote critical and independent thinking.

The typical school day in the secondary school classroom follows a pattern similar to that of the primary schools, as follows:

• Lesson starts by calling the roll and taking note of those absent.
• Teachers check students' homework.
• Teachers propose more exercises or ask questions.
• Teachers introduce a new concept or lesson.
• Teachers make sure students learn the "right" answers.
• Lesson ends with the indication of more homework.
• Lesson lasts for 45 minutes.

The school day for basic, or the lower level of secondary education, is five to six hours per day; for the higher level, it is six to seven hours per day. Most students also have two or more hours of homework. History, geography, biology, physics, chemistry, and foreign languages are studied at the secondary level and, at the higher level, students choose an emphasis to study. The choices include humanities, physics and math, chemistry and biology, vocational education, or language. High school is the highest level of education before students reach eligibility for entering higher education.

HIGHER EDUCATION

Post-high school education is diverse in Georgia. The nation's universities used to follow the Soviet five-year program but now have a four-year bachelor's degree program. A master's degree takes two to three years. The next level is called the aspirantura, which takes another three to four years and which ends in a candidate degree, a scientific degree that focuses on independent research. The highest degree given is the doctor of science.

Universities administer their own entrance exams. Each state university offers an entrance exam during the same week in August. Students must decide beforehand which university, program, and faculty they want to apply to. Private institutions hold their exams the following week. Reports of corruption are rampant. According to some estimates, about half the students purchase a copy of the test questions beforehand. Faculties have also been implicated in purchasing tests to help their students.

The nation's total higher education system is made up of 22 institutions, including universities, institutes, technicums, and cultural academies. Before independence, the state sponsored more than 100,000 students at these schools, providing a stipend based on school performance. In 1992, approximately 24 percent of Georgians of higher-education age were enrolled in higher education.

University studies typically provide highly specialized, rigid training focusing on a single area of study. Law and medicine students do not attend regular university, but go directly to law and medical school from high school. Law school takes five years to complete and medical schools seven, plus two to three years of ordinatura, which is comparable to an internship.

Although the Soviet government ran well-equipped vocational and technical schools, the schools were not popular, and the economic depression that followed independence saw the vocational and technical education system disintegrate. Much of the equipment was stolen and school buildings were occupied by other organizations. There had been 170 vocational technical schools enrolling 70,000 students in 300 branches, but by 1996 there were only 115 schools with 20,000 students and 150 branches.

Since 1996, the government has been working to reestablish vocational and technical education for those who could not attend universities. The programs train specialists in an improved technical system and offer courses for farmers, manufacturers, and businesspersons. Centers for education and industry were established in different parts of the country in the 1990s, and unemployed workers and persons changing professions were given opportunities for retraining.

Study in vocational and technical schools is three to four years. Graduates from those schools receive certificates that permit them to work in their fields of study. Those who pass special advanced courses can continue their education. Graduates of technical schools may acquire certificates as midlevel specialists for work as nurses, teachers, computer operators, and other fields of expertise. There are 32 such schools under the Ministry of Education. There are approximately the same number of schools under other ministries, such as health, culture, and agriculture. These schools are called technicums, and their graduates are permitted to enter higher education.

ADMINISTRATION, FINANCE, & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

The Ministry of Education is the central governing body and oversees most decisions regarding education throughout the country. The ministry has 10 regions and the city of Tbilisi, which has a separate region. Each region has an education department, with 72 districts comprising the region, and there are local school administrators. The ministry is responsible for approving textbooks, courses, and curricula at all levels. It also licenses and certifies teachers, principals, and schools.

The office of the Ministry of Education experienced a fire several years ago and had insufficient funds to repair the building. Therefore, it works out of two separate buildings. Department heads are often separated from their staff and, with the energy crisis facing Tbilisi, telephones and electricity often do not work, making communication even among officials and staff difficult. The ministry has a few computers, but regional and local offices do not, nor do they have copy machines, so most still fill out forms, registrations, and records by hand.

Funding Sources: In responding to its charge of establishing budgets and overseeing financial matters, the ministry has taken zealous measures. In 1997, Parliament imposed a fee of 10 laris per month (about 8 U.S. dollars) for all but the top 30 percent of students attending public schools. The money is collected at the school level or deposited directly into a bank account set up by the ministry. However, the money does not stay at the school level. Schools are, in fact, forbidden to open their own bank accounts. Because the ministry plays such a significant role in the distribution of funds, having friends and connections at such a level can often increase a district's funding. Some schools have chosen to charge more than the required 10 laris and use the money to purchase heating fuel or pass it along in the form of a teacher's bonus.

A major cause of tight education budgets and inadequate funding for schools is the way the national education budget is spent. All money goes through the Ministry of Education and from there is dispersed to the rayons, the substructures of Georgian government. At the rayon level, the funds then go to local districts and finally to the schools. The triangular nature of the system allows for diversion of funds into noneducation functions. The Ministry of Education reportedly uses 40 percent of the national education budget for salaries, social contributions, and the "miscellaneous" category. In Tbilisi, the capital, 60 percent of the budget goes to personnel costs at the administrative level.

Other sources of budget disparity are the methods of revenue generation. While each rayon receives some funding from the national level, the rest must be generated locally through taxes and contributions. Rayons in rural areas are much poorer, and in some areas bartering and trading are more common than using money, causing real problems in generating money for schools. Consequently, schools in Tbilisi and other cities are much better equipped and in better condition. Since the Soviet period, local businesses have assisted and sponsored local schools, and some are still able to do this today, which greatly helps schools operate, especially the poorer schools in the regions. Other schools rent out space in the buildings to businesses to generate revenues.

Expenditures: Most school facilities in Georgia are fairly old and have not received much maintenance since the fall of the Soviet Union. The Ministry of Education estimates that over 80 percent of schools are in need of serious repair or reconstruction. Although schools in Tbilisi and other larger cities are in relatively good condition, many schools pose serious threats to students health, with no staircase railings; cracks in walls, ceilings, and hallways; peeling paint; broken windows; no running water; leaking roofs; and decaying, uncomfortable furniture. In rural areas, some schools do not have bathrooms. Fences have not been repaired, allowing animals to roam the schoolyards and creating unsanitary conditions. Some rural schools also lack basic teaching equipment including blackboards, desks, and books.

Lack of teaching materials has forced teachers to become creative in order to carry on their work. A number of teachers make teaching aids in their own homes or ask others to do so. For beginning grades some make alphabet letters and calendars out of cardboard. Most teachers, however, view creating their own teaching materials as something outside their defined roles and responsibilities, and consider it an extra burden forced on them by the lack of funds.

School buildings were constructed during the Soviet period, when energy was well below world price, and many buildings were not insulated. In the cities, there was an underground heating system provided free of charge to schools. In the post-Soviet era energy became scarce, and underground systems are no longer used. Each school is given funding for energy and water, but usually in name only. What money actually makes it to the individual schools is hardly adequate and not enough to install insulation or introduce new technology to conserve water. Consequently, schools are forced to find additional funds or simply close. In the cities, the school budget covers the purchase of some fuel for stoves or space heaters, and parents must provide additional money. In the rural areas, schools usually have wood-burning stoves, and students bring what wood or fuel they can contribute. During the coldest part of the winter schools often close for weeks or months due to lack of heating.

During Soviet times, a certain percentage of the government's funds was allocated for food in the education system. Three meals a day were provided in kindergarten and boarding schools. Meals in primary and vocational schools and university cafeterias were also subsidized. Even though the kindergartens can no longer afford to buy food and provide meals for their students, many still, under contracts, have to pay the kitchen staff. This redundancy of personnel, an ongoing problem at several levels, interferes with the efficiency of the educational system.

NONFORMAL EDUCATION

Under the Soviet system, Georgia had a strong program of adult education and nonformal education, including evening classes and study through correspondence. These systems were very popular because of the small number of people who were allowed to enter formal institutions. In 1996 these programs encountered a reduction in enrollments, largely because adults enrolled instead in private institutions.

Special Education: In Georgia, government has a public policy of providing special education for persons with disabilities as well as appropriate general education and, when it is required, therapeutic training in schools that are established for this purpose. These schools have special syllabi, lesson plans, and teaching methods. Special vocational and technical courses are aimed at enabling students to develop a profession and to be eligible for employment. There is also an effort to help special education students improve their physical and social status.

In 1996, there were 18 special boarding schools in Tbilisi and two preschools for blind children and those with speech defects. There were about 2,000 pupils in those institutions. Duration of study in special schools is based on the ability of the students to learn the subjects offered by the school. Study in special education schools is free and has a high priority in Georgia based on resolutions passed by the Cabinet of Ministers in the mid-1990s. In most cases, there is one institution to correspond with each of the following disabilities: blindness, limited eyesight, limited hearing, cerebral palsy, curvature of the spine, asthma, problems in speech development, and gastric diseases. There are two schools for deaf children, and eight auxiliary schools for children who are mentally retarded. These figures compare similarly to special education institutions in the United States, if one compares Georgia to a state with three to five million people.

TEACHING PROFESSION

Salaries: Teachers' salaries reached their lowest level in 1995, at an amount of US$4 per month. At one time teaching was the lowest paid profession in Tbilisi, a relatively high-paying city: teachers earned 21.8 laris per month, compared to the overall average salary of 61.5 laris per month. Subsequent increases have raised teachers' salaries to about 30 laris (US$24) per month. A lari is worth about 80 U.S. cents. Average teacher salaries are about 55 percent of the average wage for the total economy (54.9 laris) and about 80 percent of that for other public sector employees (37.5 laris). One reason for the low wages is overstaffing: education staffing in Georgia is atypically generous by international standards, and is twice as high per student as in Western nations. Thus already tight budgets must be spread thin over many teachers. Teachers in some rural villages have turned to farming and teach classes in their spare time. Others sell fruit or their remaining household items in Tbilisi market places in order to make ends meet.

The state still controls Georgia's most prominent higher education institutions and is unable to pay professors a living wage. As a result, scholars have been forced to emigrate or "moonlight" at jobs outside their fields. Many now teach at the private colleges and universities that have opened in the country. Although these schools pay decent salaries, the scholars have no time for research and writing, and are sometimes forced to instruct students who do not wish to learn.

An even bigger problem for many teachers, however, has been not being paid at all. Some regions have gone almost a year without paying their teachers, leading to several teacher strikes. In one instance, more than 100 teachers blocked the road in front of the of the regional administration office to demand their wages, which had not been paid for six to eight months.

Parents also complained, noting that teachers were looked at by pupils as poor people who could not even afford to buy proper clothing. This had a negative impact on teacher morale, and some believed that their authority among students was compromised. Teachers who had to work in the market during the weekend considered that shameful and said that they did not want to be seen by their students. The months without pay, combined with ill-equipped classrooms and limited teaching materials, have made many teachers feel inferior about their jobs.

Training & Qualifications: Teachers in Georgia have been hired not out of necessity, but because of the social prestige associated with teaching and a strong pressure to accommodate the growing number of graduates. The actual abilities and credentials of many candidates played a small role in the process. (An exception is the rural mountainous areas, where most schools lacked even a minimum number of teachers.) Large numbers of teachers cannot teach without a textbook; textbooks have become the main source of knowledge, not a supplement. This is in part due to the practices of the Soviet period, when teachers were compelled to rely heavily on texts; teachers have become accustomed to following them step by step.

The number of teachers has significantly declined since 1990-1991. In 1996, there were 102,073 teachers in Georgia: 69,219 (68 percent) in grades 1-11; 9,368 (9 percent) at preschool; and 18 percent in higher education. In the process of reducing the number of teachers, those teachers who received their posts by merit, as opposed to bribery and nepotism, are most likely to lose their jobs. Another factor is that male teachers were leaving teaching at rates beyond the national average, moving to find work in Russia or Armenia.

The proportion of teachers with complete higher education has increased slightly, to 87 percent in urban schools and 75 percent in rural schools. So far, the impact of low pay and poor conditions has been confined mainly to growing teacher shortages in foreign languages and computer science, where demand is strong outside the teaching profession, and in the remote rural areas, where it has become extremely difficult to replace retiring teachers. Recent measures by the government to consolidate and improve the teaching force have succeeded in raising the pupil-teacher ratio to 10.4 (from 8.3 in 1991), reducing the number of part-time teachers, increasing the full-time working load, and increasing salaries on a performance basis through a national testing and certification process.

Unions & Associations: There are two major trade unions in Georgia. The first is the Education Workers Trade Union of the Georgian Trade Unit Amalgamation, and the second is the Free Trade Union of Teachers of Georgia-Solidarity. Both unions are focused on teachers in the regions. The Education Workers Trade Union is the older organization, and is based in the northeastern region of Tianeti. Many call this union an offshoot of the old Soviet-style unions, although the leaders deny this. The Free Trade Union was established in 1998 and is based out of Kutaisi; it has 2,800 members throughout the regions. Although the trade unions do not have a good working relationship with each other and disagree over methods of change, they appear to have similar goals of improving teachers' working conditions and compensation.

SUMMARY

Georgia faces many problems, but it is also in the process of working to reform its educational system. In that effort, it has the support and participation of the World Bank. The World Bank is working on a 12-year program that will eventually give US$60 million to the government of Georgia. The program is divided into several phases; the first phase goes until 2005 and involves US$25.9 million. If all the triggers are accomplished, the program will advance to the next phase and involve more money. The goal of this project is to realign the educational system and to make it more equitable, effective, and efficient. There are groups at the Georgian Ministry of Education specifically devoted to each component of reform.

There are seven components to the program: curriculum reform, national student assessment, professional development of teachers, development of new textbooks, strengthening policy and administration, efficient use of human resources, and increasing public awareness.

The curriculum component involves developing a national curriculum by 2005 for both primary (grades one through six) and secondary education (grades seven through nine). Students all over the country will study the exact same materials at the same levels.

A national student assessment exam and a national assessment center will be developed. As of 2001, assessment exams were administered and recorded by each local school. Thus students may score the same but be tested on different material. The old system has also been tainted by corruption: because teachers are paid so little and so rarely, some sell test scores, offer private tutoring, or change grades for a little extra money. With a national assessment, the exams will be reviewed and recorded by the national assessment center. The center will also collect and compile data and statistics nationwide for education.

The component for the professional development of teachers has several parts. One important aspect is the development of school networks for sharing information and creating a community of teachers. A program for individual school grants is also planned. The Ministry of Education will be responsible for setting up the regulations and provisions and will also provide support and instruction in grant proposal writing for those without experience in this field. Every school will receive a grant for the purpose of helping children learn. The grant cannot go to books or computers, but to projects engineered by the teachers themselves, in order to involve teachers in the reform process and allow the schools to see immediate results from the project.

The development of new textbooks includes the training of authors and those who will have to make the final decisions about what texts schools should use. Schools will buy the books and then rent them out to students. The first-year students will pay about 50 percent of the cost of the books, and then 30 percent for the next four years. Thus through book rentals the schools will accumulated enough funds to purchase new textbooks every four years and so on. This would make the project self-sustainable and would not require foreign loans or aid in order to provide books for students.

The project also includes a component to strengthen policy and administration. Regional education departments, which were established in the late 1990s, lack clear and defined roles. The Soros Foundation is helping to define the roles of the various departments. Local authorities are responsible for paying teachers' salaries, funding school maintenance and upkeep, however, the management responsibilities have not been plainly articulated.

The next component is a more efficient allocation of resources. Currently there is one teacher for every 10 students, a carryover from the Soviet system in which there was about a 1:5 teacher-student ratio. One of the program's goals is to increase this ratio to 1:14 by 2005. According to current regulations teachers are allowed to teach only certain grades and subjects. Therefore, a village school could have only 5 students but 10 teachers because secondary teachers are not allowed to teach primary classes. Because of this redundancy of teachers, about half of all teachers will have to be laid off. The Ministry of Education and the World Bank are trying to establish a severance package for pensioners. Although teaching pays very little, pensions are even less. It is against World Bank policies to pay severance for teachers, but they are revisiting the policy to look for an interpretation that would allow this. The system would have to retain the most qualified teachers and insure that those receiving severance pay would not return to the education system as consultants or in other capacities.

The Bank's project does not provide for any changes to school buildings, but it will analyze and map schools to eliminate redundancy. If there are two schools in close proximity they may be merged together. These resources will go into a database and the center will develop software and a computerized system for recording this data. Not all schools will have computers—they may still have to fill out their forms by hand—but the data will be computerized. This will allow the government and others access to information about the schools throughout the country.

The final component of the project is increasing public awareness. Sustaining education reform will require the increased dissemination of information and higher levels of parent and teacher involvement in the school system.

This project will help combat corruption through its measures to increase openness, cooperation, community involvement, and organization. Hopefully the example of these reforms will encourage similar changes in higher education, which faces even greater problems of corruption. For example, with nationwide exams throughout secondary schooling, higher institutions of learning might adopt this type of assessment as well, thus minimizing unfair influence and bribery.

Georgia's educational system has a long way to go before it is as effective as its supporters hope it will be. Nonetheless, the country has a plan and the resources to help it achieve major improvements over time.

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—Leon Ginsberg