Georgia to Spend 1/4 of Its Budget on Education
By Tea Mariamidze
Friday, April 5
The PM made the statement after the governmental sitting on April 4.
“We will initiate a new draft law, according to which the current or any future government will be obliged to spend 6% of our GDP, which is 1/4 of the budget should be always paid on education and human capital,” Bakhtadze said.
According to him, the education budget is increased by 1 billion compared to 2012 and this year it is about GEL 1 billion 600 million.
"We, at the same time, take a commitment that in 2020 the education budget will be 2 billion, in 2021 – GEL 2.5 billion and in 2022 it will be equal to 6 percent of our GDP - 3 billion 400 million GEL,” he added.
The PM said education will help Georgia to solve its main problems – occupation and poverty.
“This money will be spent on all five levels of our education sector: pre-school education, secondary education, vocational education, higher education, and science,” he added.
Bakhtadze voiced the initiative in early March, during the presentation of the government initiative: Education - Way to Freedom.
He said through investing one-fourth of the budget in education, Georgia will become one of the most educated nations worldwide.
The PM claimed that the government’s efforts to provide for high-quality education will also encourage the private sector to invest money in the field, which will result in new schools and kindergartens, high-educational institutions and new campuses.
“The large-scale reform means that our higher education institutions will be represented in the world’s top rankings, we will have the most innovative research centers, laboratories, and we will be able to establish Georgia as a hub of education and science in the region, which is our mission,” explained Bakhtadze.