Optimization underway at Education Ministry
By Tea Mariamidze
Friday, December 23
Georgia’s Ministry of Education and Science has launched an optimization process, after which a number of employees will lose their jobs. The process also implies reduction of administrative expenses.
The information was confirmed by Georgia’s Education Minister, Aleksandre Jejelava, who said that soon over 200-250 people would be dismissed from the Ministry and its regional branches.
Jejelava also stated that the number of lawyers employed at the Ministry will be halved.
“In total there are 73 lawyers in the regional resource centers of the ministry, and after reorganization there will be only 36 or 37 left,” he noted.
The minister also predicted that optimization would apply to the regional representatives of the Audit Service.
Moreover, Jejelava said that the Ministry is going to purchase service of internet companies, instead of keeping internet specialists at schools. He believes such change will save some financial resources.
The minister does not rule out the reorganization of employees working in the ministry itself.
Jejelava also talked about the system of teachers’ qualification exams. He said the ministry has adopted a new scheme which will be more comfortable for the teachers.
He said the barrier of two obligatory exams has been abolished, which means that not a single examinee will fail the exam. However, when taking exams, the teachers need to accumulate a certain number of points in order to be promoted.
The minister stated that new kindergartens are being built, as only 20 percent of children go to the nursery school, because there is not enough space for the others.
“We have five-times less kindergartens than we need, but the construction process is very rapid and soon all villages and towns will have enough nursery schools,” he added.
Georgia’s main opposition party, the United National Movement (UNM), does not approve of the government-initiated optimization process.
“This process will be destructive for Georgia…the optimizations affects only lower level employees, who have been doing the most difficult work for years,” stated Zurab Chiaberashvili, a member of the UNM.
