"I never thought I would become a teacher, but I am exactly where I need to be and where my presence is most needed" - said Novrasta Mustafayev, a senior teacher of Georgian as a second language, who has been teaching the state language at Ulashlo Public School in Marneuli Municipality for three years.

The 27-year-old teacher graduated from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University in 2018. In the same year she successfully passed the competition announced by the National Center for Teacher Professional Development and from here began her pedagogical career. 

Novrasta Mustafaev first worked as an assistant teacher in the first public school in the village of Kvemo Bolnisi, Bolnisi Municipality. A year later she moved to the public school in the village of Ulashlo in Marneuli, where she has been teaching Georgian to children there for the third year.

"I always tried to help local students learn the Georgian language, but when I became a student, I became even more convinced that the Georgian language is an integral part of our lives and we must know the language of our homeland. We are born here, we live here and if we want to be successful citizens in the future, we must definitely learn the state language. I am very glad that this opportunity was given to me by the Professional Development Support Program of non-Georgian language schools.

The "Professional Development Support Program for Non-Georgian Language Schools" has a huge role to play for non-Georgian language schools. As a participant of the program, I always try to bring the innovations in the field of education not only to the school, but also to the students directly” – stated the teacher, who confirmed her subject competence in 2019. In the 2020-2021 academic year, Ilia State University has completed a 60-credit teacher training program. In the current academic year, she was granted the status and then became a senior teacher of Georgian as a second language. 

"I never thought I would become a teacher, but I think I am exactly where I need to be and where I need to be. I love working at school and spending time with my students. I am glad to see that children are moving forward and trying harder and harder to learn the language. I also help students to be tolerant and loving citizens of their homeland; To try to create a loving environment not only for themselves but for the whole country. 

This is why I conduct new activities, school activities and educational projects. This year we joined the project "Chkhirkedela" and successfully completed the project "Paper Creation and Recycling". We run essay contests, drawing festivals, quizzes, and educational games. I want to show students that nothing is impossible, our future, our success is in our hands. 

I love my homeland and I try to replicate the exact same environment for my students to teach the Georgian language with love” - said the teacher.

Novrasta Mustafayev recalls that distance learning created difficulties for them in the first stage, but the teacher herself conducted additional training on the use of electronic spaces and Microsoft Teams:

"The most gratifying thing is that during this difficult period, the motivation of students towards learning has not changed. It is true that currently the study is conducted in a face-to-face format, but we are ready for all situations!” - stated Novrasta Mustafaev.