Newspaper “24 Hours”

Title: New Initiatives for Future Students and School children

Gvantsa Kilasonia 

Ministry of Education and Science continues full time working  besides schools are finished. In parallel with Unified Entry Exams and Teachers’ voluntary certification, MES is getting ready for the new academic year. In the framework of the second level of the reforms, innovations are prepared for the school principals, teachers, school children and their parents. Semester studying will be introduced instead of trimesters, school children evaluation criteria will be changed and holidays will be exactly defined as well. MES developed all above mentioned alterations considering school principals, teachers, school children’s and their parents’ opinions.

Minister of Education and Science personally observes Unified Entry Exams in different educational institutions that began on July 1. Dimitri Shashkini personally answered the questions about the innovations on 2010 Unified Entry Exams, changes that are planned in the next academic year.

Dimitri Shashkini: Unified Entry Exams and MA and teachers’ certification exams are held in the same period for the first time in Georgia. Fundamental changes are introduced  in Unified Entry Exams. For the first time this year, entrants will have to pass four exams instead of three. These exams are in Georgian language and literature, foreign language, general ability tests and one of the profile subjects. We received many fair notes about three exams. For example, Physics-mathematical faculty was dissatisfied, it could not evaluate the student in physics and the same was in medical field. Therefore, we introduced profile subject that was defined by the appropriate faculty.

Student financing rule is changed as well. Before the present, state grant was allocated according to the results of general ability tests. From now on, all subjects will be given equal priority. Student will receive state grant according to the results in all four exams, because claim was made, that children’s level of preparedness could not be evaluated only with one exam. Increasing of the barrier by Iv.Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University in order to advance the quality of studying is the innovation as well. The minimal score is more than 25. It is acceptable that university tries to attract talented students.

As you noted, teachers’ certification voluntary exams are being held in parallel with the Unified Entry Exams. How many teachers are passing these exams, are the exams difficult?

Teachers’ certification exams will be as objective as unified entry exams. National examination center evaluates them. I think there is no mistrust towards this center. Exams in Georgian language and literature, mathematics and foreign language concerned around 20,000 teachers this time. 15, 000 of them will pass the exams. Teachers who pass the barrier will receive additional salary as well as the right to work as a mentor teacher.  Results are confidential – if the teacher fails, he/she will have opportunity to pass the exam one more time during four years.

Information was spread, that MES ordered to dismiss the teachers who had less than 18 working hours. . .

Information is false. Unfortunately, some people have great ambitions and they think they are more important than fair and other values. People who spread such information should remember that elder teachers react emotionally on this false news. I did not order such directions and I am not going to do this. Staff has been already approved in Tbilisi schools. All interested people have opportunity to get familiarized with the staff. They will discover that teachers with 5-6 working hours as well. I think readers should know that teachers full table of organization is 18 hours. When the teacher has 18 working hours, he/she receives full salary. If the teacher has 22-24 hours, he/she do not receive salary for additional hours. Teachers work in the same school where one has 15 working hours and the other – 23. I asked the principals to distribute hours fairly because the salary will not be increased for 23 working hours. This was my only request. Each school principal, who dismisses teacher on behalf of Minister, will be strictly punished. We have already identified some principals. The school is LEPL and it decides to employ or dismiss the teacher independently. I want to ask the teachers who will be dismissed on behalf of MES to call on the hot line of General Inspection of MES.

We are only involved in the school administration approval. MES did not interfere in this issue for two years and this provoked great chaos. Particularly I turned out that from 80% of the school staff 40%is administration and 40%teachers. We discovered 105 artificially increased occupations. We do not need them. We need teachers and not school scene-painter, children accountant, organizer of mass organizations and etc. some principals have 8 deputies and each have the salary that amounts to 1000 GEL and they do not give prizes to the teachers. Afterwards they ask MES to allocate funds. Schools have enough money to transfer prizes to the teachers and do some renovation workings as well. Of course small schools operate as well that are fully financed by MES, but these schools are not located in Tbilisi. They are regional schools and the Ministry continues their support.

School with more than 600 school children has budget up to 200,000 because each child is given 350 GEL voucher. This amount is quite enough for encouragement of the teachers and some renovation workings. But the fact that some schools with 1,400 school children request MES to pay payments is called damage. The reason is artificial staff.

Is the textbook approval process over?

I want to announce that textbook approval will be more restricted regardless the protest of some publishing-houses. We will not allow textbooks of low quality at schools. We are not going to give the publishing houses decision making right about the textbooks. State has lever and right to manage the education process in accordance with National Curriculum. Therefore, these are only first steps in textbook approval. Approval will be launched strictly from the next academic year. Textbooks that will satisfy all necessary requirements will be approved. This year, several books were not approved, exactly these books were approved.

New national curriculum will be launched. What changes are planned in the next academic year?

Developing the new national curriculum will be finished in September and it will come into force step by step. The first step will be implemented in 2011, the second – in 2012 and the third – in 2013. Innovation is that school will begin on September 15 and will finish on June 15. Long holidays will begin on December 24 and finish on January 20. Easter holidays will begin on Big Thursday and finish on Wednesday of the following week. By the request of parents, semester studying will be introduced. I agree too.

School children evaluation system will also be changed. It will be more easy for teachers and transparent for the school children. Teachers will not calculate percents any more. 3 marks will be introduced in 10 grade system. All three will have the same value. 3 components will evaluate the knowledge – homework, workings in class rooms and tests. These innovations will change journals. The main thing is that teachers will have more time for teaching and not calculating percents. New subjects will be introduced at schools as well. These are civil defence and safety. Physical fitness lessons will be replaced with sports classes. Retraining of the teachers is underway for this goal. Teaching English language will be compulsory from the first form. All first graders of pilot schools will receive computers.

Tutor Hours will be introduced at schools. all tutors will be responsible for giving classes on different values one day a week. Besides teachers teach the children subject, they should teach them not to cut the tree, not to dump and etc. development of school children’s minds will be difficult only with subject teaching and without these lessons. It is necessary that tutors take participation in bringing up of the children together with their parents.

Responsibility of the parents,’ who will avoid children’s bringing up, will be launched. Generally, this article exists for a long time in the administrational code, nut it did not work. This approach is in every country ad we will launch it, because it is incorrect to punish all the children for one or two school mates. Freedom of each person finishes there, where other person’s freedom starts. Therefore, if one child bothers another child and the parent do not explain the child what is prohibited and not, these parents will be fined. Parent is responsible to bring up the child by law and I am not talking about the moral duties.

The bad practice that tutor criticized one school child and praised the other child is abolished. This is not ethical. Ethics code envisages individual explaining to all parents the ways of teaching and in the necessary situation, individual assessment.

And finally, I want to ask you about Educators and Scientists Free trade Union of Georgia. They acuse you in interference in their activities. . .

Around 12 representatives of this union hold their activities only at schools. Almost this amount is in higher educational institutions. Some of them say, they have more than 70,000 member teachers and the others say – 120, 000. When I listen to each union I calculate half and a million teachers. But the real amount is 75,000. We have never interfered in the activities of these unions and we are not going to do this. But we will protect teachers’ rights and the law. By the legislation of Georgia, all citizens and among them teachers are free in choice. I mean salaries in this case. Teachers will decide and choose   independently address of their transfer, but if some organizations request the schools to transfer the whole amount of money this is inadmissible. Unions demand exactly this.

Position of MES is fair and easy. If the union requests the schools to transfer money, it should provide two documents – written admission of all teachers and a signed agreement between the union and school. We asked all unions to solve these issues in March. In another way, this is violation of criminal law. If we talk only about one union, than we talk only about half and a million gel annually. One awful fact happened. When the public officials transferred money in the school budget for refurbishing, the school principal transferred this money to the union. The task is under court consideration.

I cannot prohibit transferring money from own salaries to the teachers. But transferring even one tetra without teachers’ agreement is not allowed. Principals who will do this without teachers’ permission will be strictly punished.