Mikheil Chkhenkeli, the candidate running for the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, addressed the joint committees of the Parliament and spoke about the projects that have been implemented and that are planned in the field of higher education and science.

Student support programs are actively implemented by the Ministry to increase access to higher education.

Work is underway on a new model of higher education funding, which involves defining the amount of basic funding for state higher education institutions using a formula based on "count criteria". To support the regional universities, an indicator of targeted specialization will be provided, which means financing the priority fields identified in the region. In addition, special approaches will be taken into account when funding art higher education institutions.

Furthermore, Georgia will be trained as an Erasmus + program country, which will open access to all components of the program. Funding for higher education institutions will continue to improve infrastructure. In addition, it is planned to strengthen cooperation between the Ministry of Justice and higher education institutions, which means the integration of students' practical activities in the academic programs at the Ministry of Justice.

As for the already implemented projects, the Minister stressed that the Georgian-French University was created and received its first students. For the first time in the region, TSU Educational Programs has received accreditation from the American Engineering and Technology Accreditation Council (ABET). Extended Academic Mobility Support Programs: ERASMUS +, Fulbright, DAAD. In cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, the South Caucasus branch of the European Public Law Organization has been established at TSU to facilitate educational and research projects.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, all measures were taken to ensure that higher education institutions could switch to distance learning in the shortest possible time. The Ministry recommended to the universities regarding the preferential policy for the payment of student tuition fees. Students from socially vulnerable families with scores of 150,000 or less received social assistance to cover tuition fees for the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. More than 15,000 students have benefited from the social assistance and it is important that the students are also funded to pay the tuition fees for the spring semester of the 2019-2020 academic year. It should be especially noted that despite the pandemic, the 2020 national exams were conducted not only on time, but also in a highly organized manner and with full observance of safety. In 2021, national exams will also be held to the highest standards.

In the field of science, it is noteworthy that the Georgian scientific space for the first time joined the night of European researchers with the project "Science is the captain", in which about 100 cities in 30 European countries participated.

It is planned to establish a "School of Science Management" to train Georgian researchers in science management and to launch 8 new university grant offices across the country. Within the framework of the European Commission's research and innovation program "Horizon-2020", a project worth 1.5 million euros "Researcher Mobility Program" is being developed, which provides funding for the mobility of 60 Georgian researchers.

Preparations are underway for the Horizon Europe program, which will pave the way for Georgia's integration into the European Science Area, including full membership in the European Association "COST". Cooperation will be expanded based on an agreement with CERN.

For the further development of science, it is planned to increase the funding of grant competitions for fundamental research in engineering, science and technology, as well as in the humanities and Kartvelology; Facilitate cooperation of Georgian and foreign academic and scientific staff working abroad with the Georgian members of academia; and to strengthen the commercialization component of applied scientific research.