Sophio Gogokhia became the winner of the 2020 National Teacher Award. The award was presented by the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, Mikheil Chkhenkeli and personally congratulated the winner. During the event, the Minister addressed the attending public, congratulated the teachers on their professional day and thanked them for their selfless work and expertise during the pandemic. Mikheil Chkhenkeli noted that teachers play a vital role in educating future generations.

Mikheil Chkhenkeli: "First of all, I would like to candidly congratulate our teachers on the International Teachers' Day! The winner of the National Award was announced today. I must say that all the people who are involved in this profession, be it a school teacher, a university professor or a vocational school educator, all those who choose this path are already winners. These people serve the most important role - caring for the future of our country, educating our young people, children and students.

We went through a very difficult period, caused by the COVID-19 crisis, which essentially became a huge challenge for the entire world. Our country quickly switched to distance education and in one week an effective project "TV School” was created in cooperation with the Ministry and the First Channel of Georgia.

The real heroes of this process are the teachers who were at the forefront of this process. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to each teacher for jointly overcoming this challenge and maintaining the continuity and quality of education.

Once again, I would like to congratulate all the teachers with all my heart and wish you success in your extremely important work! You are the heroes of our time! "

The winner of the national award was awarded with GEL 10,000. The National Teacher Award was established on May 13, 2017, based on a memorandum signed between the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, the Education for All - Georgia Coalition and the National Center for Teacher Professional Development. The initiative is part of the global campaign to promote teachers - "The Global Teacher Prize", which aims to identify successful teachers, introduce them to the public and thus increase the status of the profession. The general sponsor of the National Teacher Award is the Gudavadze-Patarkatsishvili Foundation.

More than 500 teachers were involved in the award competition over four years. The National Teacher Award selection jury is composed of representatives of the field and public figures, who independently evaluate each teacher's application through the system.