"The Ministry's reforms at all educational levels, as well as its future objectives and visions in light of current issues, were visible to the society today”, - Giorgi Amilakhvari, Chairman of the Education and Science Committee, stated at the plenary session, where the Parliament heard the Minister of Education, Mikheil Chkhenkeli, in the format of Ministerial Hour.

The Chair discussed the reforms implemented under the Georgian Dream administration, the successes attained, and the problems still present in his speech.

"The budget for science and education in 2012 was 626 million GEL. The education budget has grown four times since the Georgian Dream has been in power. In kindergartens, the average teacher's wage in 2012 was 255 GEL. Today, that figure has increased by 150 percent, and starting in 2023, it will rise by another 100 GEL. In 2012, instructors received 330 GEL as pay. Their remuneration will be 1230 GEL under full-time conditions today, taking into account the revised budget for 2023. The wage has increased fourfold here as well. In addition, the government and ministry welcomed the expansion of the maternity leave to six months and the number of vacation days for teachers", - Giorgi Amilakhvari noted.

According to him, during the under the Georgian Dream, 181 new schools were built and 270 schools were rehabilitated, and 1800 schools were partially rehabilitated - "400 schools are currently through tendering processes, of which 80 are new constructions and 380 will undergo rehabilitation over the next two years. Then there will be a second wave, and by 2026 nearly all of Georgia's public schools will have been renovated, constructed, and brought up to date”.

As for professional education, according to Giorgi Amilakhvari, 68 dual programs have been created and implemented, within which the employment rate is approximately 73%.

"A specific outcome of professional education is this. Although this is insufficient, the vision, the carried-out projects, and the one brick already put in, as demonstrated by this outcome, allow us to affirm that in this regard, the ongoing reform will lead us to where we all so much want to go", - Giorgi Amilakhvari stated.

According to him, 33 vocational colleges have been established since 2012 and the immediate vision of the ministry is to cover vocational education in the entire territory of the country.

"Innovative professional colleges and new academic programs are currently being integrated into schools and universities. As a result, in recent years, everyone in the nation's territory has had access to vocational education", - Giorgi Amilakhvari clarified.

He claims that, in terms of demand and capacity creation, the number of spots in professional colleges has increased three times since 2012. Additionally, Giorgi Amilakhvari discussed developments in the realm of higher education.

According to him, the country became a part of the prominent educational European family for the first time a few years ago.

"Georgia recognizes the same criteria as those in Europe, giving our students the chance to have their diplomas from programs they finished in Georgia be recognized in Europe. Regarding the ministry's policy and the specific outcomes of higher education, we may observe this in the strategy of internationalizing higher education, where a growing number of joint, double diploma programs are accredited internationally”, - the Chair of the Committee stated.

According to him, the rate of growth of foreign students in the country is also very important, which is 23,000 in Georgia as of today.

"Due to improvements in higher education, Georgia has emerged as one of the region's educational leaders and an alluring force”, - Giorgi Amilakhvari concluded.