The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has released a report on tackling the educational challenges in 2020 caused by COVID-19 pandemic. Study examined practices from 98 countries. The steps taken by the Georgian government to ensure a continuous education process are considered to be one of the best examples.

The Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia, Mikheil Chkhenkeli spoke about the OECD report after the conclusion of the Intergovernmental Coordination Council meeting chaired by the Prime Minister and thanked all those who are involved in the implementation of distance learning practices in Georgia.

Mikheil Chkhenkeli: “Greetings. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – OECD, has published a framework document outlining Georgia as one of the best countries in the world for overcoming the challenges posed by the Coronavirus outbreak. The document discusses in great detail, all the measures taken by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports in Georgia. A particular emphasis is placed on the implementation of Teleskola – a joint project undertaken by the Ministry together with the First Channel of Georgia. It is important to note, that Teleskola, guarantees access for everyone, regardless of having the Internet access. Additionally, the document discusses other measures related to distance learning. Namely, the various communication tools Georgian schools use for remote education, both in online and offline fashion, and more specifically, the successful utilization of Microsoft Office products. I would like to extend my most sincere gratitude, to those who are so involved in the implementation of distance learning and other necessary measures. A special thank you of course, to all teachers who immersed themselves in online teaching with such diligence and creativity. This allows us to close the semester successfully, without any unnecessary delays”.

The document lists all the measures taken by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia with the support of the government. These are as follows:  

Teleskola Project, broadcasting TV lessons, launched on March 30. These lessons encompass all the mandatory subjects between grades I-XII. Subsequently, the document states that with this project, the Georgian education system has taken care of the availability of distance learning for all its citizens.

The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia has created Microsoft Office 365 user profiles for about 600,000 students of Georgian public schools, 55,000 teachers and school faculty members through the Education Information Management System (EMIS).

A portal has been created that allows students and their parents to access students ’data without the direct involvement of the school administration and teachers.

A virtual classroom has been set up on Microsoft TEAMS platform, intended for all subjects.  

Virtual counseling centers have been organized across all regions of Georgia, allowing volunteer experts from the New School Model to help teachers cope with the technological aspects of distance learning.

Data was collected to provide teachers and students with access to the Internet and digital technologies. According to statistics, 750 active users are involved in Microsoft TEAMS every day. In total, Microsoft TEAMS has 138,698 users; As of March 23, Office 365 had 143,140 active users; Email and Data Online Storage (OneDrive) has about 14,000 active users. In addition, support groups for the New School Model are actively working on school reform, an important component, dictating the introduction of distance learning and the sharing of experiences with other schools and teachers.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia has developed special recommendations that guides parents to ensure child’s active involvement in distance learning procedures. Also, teachers, through constant communication with parents, will provide information about the progress of the distance learning process, so that students are able to perform all the necessary activities in a timely and adequate manner.

The biggest challenge facing the education system in the world is the malfunction of technological infrastructure, which is a necessary condition for the effective implementation of distance learning. In this regard, Georgia has been much better prepared than other countries, the study said.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has released a report on tackling the educational challenges in 2020 caused by COVID-19 pandemic. Study examined practices from 98 countries. The steps taken by the Georgian government to ensure a continuous education process are considered to be one of the best examples.

The Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia, Mikheil Chkhenkeli spoke about the OECD report after the conclusion of the Intergovernmental Coordination Council meeting chaired by the Prime Minister and thanked all those who are involved in the implementation of distance learning practices in Georgia.

Mikheil Chkhenkeli: “Greetings. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – OECD, has published a framework document outlining Georgia as one of the best countries in the world for overcoming the challenges posed by the Coronavirus outbreak. The document discusses in great detail, all the measures taken by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports in Georgia. A particular emphasis is placed on the implementation of Teleskola – a joint project undertaken by the Ministry together with the First Channel of Georgia. It is important to note, that Teleskola, guarantees access for everyone, regardless of having the Internet access. Additionally, the document discusses other measures related to distance learning. Namely, the various communication tools Georgian schools use for remote education, both in online and offline fashion, and more specifically, the successful utilization of Microsoft Office products. I would like to extend my most sincere gratitude, to those who are so involved in the implementation of distance learning and other necessary measures. A special thank you of course, to all teachers who immersed themselves in online teaching with such diligence and creativity. This allows us to close the semester successfully, without any unnecessary delays”.

The document lists all the measures taken by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia with the support of the government. These are as follows:  

Teleskola Project, broadcasting TV lessons, launched on March 30. These lessons encompass all the mandatory subjects between grades I-XII. Subsequently, the document states that with this project, the Georgian education system has taken care of the availability of distance learning for all its citizens.

The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia has created Microsoft Office 365 user profiles for about 600,000 students of Georgian public schools, 55,000 teachers and school faculty members through the Education Information Management System (EMIS).

A portal has been created that allows students and their parents to access students ’data without the direct involvement of the school administration and teachers.

A virtual classroom has been set up on Microsoft TEAMS platform, intended for all subjects.  

Virtual counseling centers have been organized across all regions of Georgia, allowing volunteer experts from the New School Model to help teachers cope with the technological aspects of distance learning.

Data was collected to provide teachers and students with access to the Internet and digital technologies. According to statistics, 750 active users are involved in Microsoft TEAMS every day. In total, Microsoft TEAMS has 138,698 users; As of March 23, Office 365 had 143,140 active users; Email and Data Online Storage (OneDrive) has about 14,000 active users. In addition, support groups for the New School Model are actively working on school reform, an important component, dictating the introduction of distance learning and the sharing of experiences with other schools and teachers.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia has developed special recommendations that guides parents to ensure child’s active involvement in distance learning procedures. Also, teachers, through constant communication with parents, will provide information about the progress of the distance learning process, so that students are able to perform all the necessary activities in a timely and adequate manner.

The biggest challenge facing the education system in the world is the malfunction of technological infrastructure, which is a necessary condition for the effective implementation of distance learning. In this regard, Georgia has been much better prepared than other countries, the study said.

Source:  https://globaled.gse.harvard.edu/files/geii/files/framework_guide_v2.pdf