The Education, Science and Youth Affairs Committee considered, at its II reading under an expedited procedure, the draft law “On General Education”, submitted by the Government of Georgia under the legislative initiative procedure.

The amendments were presented by Tamar Makharashvili, Deputy Education, Science and Youth Minister.

The draft law provides for the gradual introduction into the educational process of textbooks developed by the Ministry for specific grades and subjects at the beginning of the 2026–2027 and 2027–2028 academic years.

The Committee also considered, at its II reading under an expedited procedure, amendments to the Law on General Education concerning the establishment of qualification requirements for teachers and special education teachers.

According to the amendments, individuals with vocational education in the field of Information and Communication Technologies will also be eligible for employment in schools. At the same time, in order to ensure the quality of teaching, such individuals will be required, in accordance with the law, to complete either a teacher candidate programme or an appropriate teacher training educational programme.

In addition, any person holding at least a Bachelor’s degree will be eligible to participate in the teacher candidate programme. However, if the individual’s qualification does not correspond to the subject they intend to teach, they will be required to demonstrate competence in that subject as a prerequisite for enrolment in the programme.

The amendments also provide for the possibility of replacing a special education teacher who is temporarily absent from school.

The Committee also considered Change No. 1 to the Framework Credit Facility Agreement of 15 November 2022 between the French Development Agency (Lender) and Georgia (Borrower), submitted for ratification by the Government of Georgia. The amendment was presented by Giorgi Kakauridze, First Deputy Finance Minister.

According to Giorgi Kakauridze, in 2022, Georgia and the IBRD signed a loan agreement under which the IBRD provided Georgia with EUR 358.5 million in financing. The programme aims to support ongoing reforms in public administration, education, healthcare, and social protection.

The First Deputy Minister further stated that the French Development Agency allocated an additional EUR 100 million in loan financing for the implementation of the programme. Of this amount, EUR 50 million was activated immediately, while activation of the remaining EUR 50 million had been planned for 2025. However, due to ongoing negotiations regarding the details of the reform, this could not be completed. As the deadline for utilizing the funds expired on 15 November 2025, the agreement is being amended to extend the deadline until 15 August 2026. This will enable Georgia to activate the remaining EUR 50 million in the near future.

The Committee approved the documents.