The Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia successfully continues the process of textbook approval or all subjects of IX grade and various subjects of elementary and basic levels (I-VIII grades). In order to create high quality textbooks for students, due to the high involvement of the public in the textbook approval process, the deadline for public review of textbooks was extended to March 31, 2021 .
The certification process is fully electronic and can be accessed on the following website:
https://grifireba.emis.ge. In order to ensure the active involvement of all stakeholders in the process of creating textbooks, including Georgian specialists living abroad and parents, a copy of all textbooks will be made public on the electronic portal by March 31. Accordingly, all interested individuals will have the opportunity to get acquainted with the content of the textbooks and make relevant comments on the portal.
Comments left on the portal will be reviewed by subject groups of textbook evaluators, who, in line with the specifics of the subject, will bring together national curriculum experts, teachers with many years of experience, field scientists, psychologists, philologists and other professionals.
Phase I of the review will be completed in May and Phase II is scheduled for early June. The decision to approve the textbook will be made by June 18, 2021. If more than three certified textbooks in the subject pass the review stage, the school will make a choice from the top three in the ranking.
In 2021, 54 applications were submitted for textbook / series certification, of which 53 passed the first stage and went through the review stage. At the same time, for the first time in the history of textbook approval process, textbooks of Abkhazian language and literature for grades I-IV are presented.
The Ministry actively cooperates with various governmental and non-governmental organizations, including the Public Defender's Office and the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, in selecting and training the textbook reviewers. Such openness and the transparency of the system was positively assessed by the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association and the Foundation for the Promotion of Legal Education in the report - "Equality Policy in the General Education System". In addition, in 2020, in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund, an international independent expert evaluated the textbook process and issued a series of recommendations.