The Parliament of Georgia, at its I reading and under an expedited procedure, supported by 75 votes, amendments to the Law of Georgia on General Education, which aim to expand employment opportunities in schools.

According to the presenter, Tamar Makharashvili, Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Youth, the amendments introduce definitions for teacher candidate, substitute special teacher, programme teacher, and programme special teacher.

Under the draft law, employment opportunities in schools will also be extended to individuals who have obtained vocational education in the field of Information and Communication Technologies.

Under the current wording of the law, a teacher candidate is required to hold a bachelor's degree in a subject or subject group provided for by the National Curriculum. However, it is not specifically stated that the degree must be in the same subject the individual intends to teach. Accordingly, this requirement will be clarified and revised.

In addition, any person holding at least a bachelor's degree will be eligible to participate in the teacher candidate programme. However, if their qualification does not correspond to the subject they wish to teach, they will be required to demonstrate competency in that subject as a prerequisite for joining the programme.

The amendments will also make it possible to replace a temporarily absent special teacher.

The right to work as a special teacher will also be granted to individuals who have obtained subject-teacher status through any of the legally recognised pathways and have additionally passed the special teacher examination.

“Should the amendment be adopted, the law will introduce new teaching positions, such as “programme teacher” and “programme special teacher”. These positions will be established on the basis of specific targeted programmes, for a defined period of time, and, where necessary, the holders of these positions may be transferred to another school”, - Tamar Makharashvili stated.