Mikheil Batiashvili: "the official process of joining the European Association for Quality Assurance of Education in Georgia was concluded today"
The annual General Assembly of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Education (ENQA) is held in Yerevan on October 17-18 this year, where Georgia is officially nominated as a member of the Association.
The Presidium of the Association of European Quality Assurance Agencies (ENQA) made the decision to welcome the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement of Georgia as a full member on the 9th annual forum held in Tallinn, Estonia, held on April 25 this year. According to the procedure, the Center was officially declared a member of the Association at the aforementioned Assembly.
“Today, Georgia's accession to the EU in the area of higher education was unanimously supported by the General Assembly and the formal process of Georgia's accession to the ENQA was fully completed. Another major achievement this year was becoming a member of the EU-based interstate research and innovation organization - EURAXESS, and I hope our scientists and students will take advantage of these opportunities, ”said Mikhail Batiashil, during his official visit to the Armenian capital - Yerevan.
The organization's strategy, budget and future plans were discussed at the ENQA General Assembly in Armenia. Acting Head of the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement - Eka Baghishvili participated in the Assembly.
Joining of the National Center for Education Quality Enhancement in ENQA significantly contributes to the recognition of the qualifications and diplomas awarded in Georgia in Europe; which means gaining a high level of credibility towards the evaluation system of the universities operating in Georgia; Strengthening international partnerships of universities with European universities and research institutes; and promoting the international mobility of students and professors.
According to the Association Agreement signed between Georgia and the European Union, the country has undertaken massive steps to gradually bring the Georgian higher education system closer to the "European Higher Education Area". In this regard, it was particularly important to introduce European mechanisms and standards for the development of higher education in Georgia. This task has already been fulfilled and the standards and procedures for harmonized authorization and accreditation in the European Higher Education Area Quality Assurance Standards and Guidelines (ESG-2015) are in force in Georgia today.
It is also worth noting that on June 27, 2019, the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement was registered in the European Register of Independent Higher Education Agencies (EQAR) - The European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education ► https://www.eqar.eu/register/agencies/agency /?id=59
EQAR is a European organization advocating for public interest co-financed by governments and stakeholders of European countries, which promotes transparency and confidence in higher education as well as the recognition of education in the European Higher Education Area.
