The Prime Minister of “Georgian Dream,” Irakli Kobakhidze, announced that 12th grade will be maintained only in private schools, while public schools will switch to an 11-year curriculum. He also mentioned the creation of special classes for those who still wish to complete 12th grade.
What options does a student living in a rural area have? – Should they leave the village and move to a city to finish 12th grade? Does the so-called education reform of “Georgian Dream” increase social inequality in the country? For this topic, “Batumelebi” spoke with education expert Simon Janashia.
Mr. Janashia, studying in private schools is a luxury and many people cannot afford it. Now “Georgian Dream” plans to switch public schools to an 11-year curriculum. Does this mean that children living in rural areas will face even greater inequality, since there are practically no private schools in municipalities? What does “Georgian Dream” tell people living in villages by this decision, that they should have neither choice nor access to education?
Kobakhidze’s statement in Parliament yesterday is illogical and, leaving aside the fairness of their goals, inconsistent.
He claims that the objectives of the current 12-year program can be achieved in 11 years, which is itself illogical.
The second inconsistency is that 12-year education is supposedly only needed for those planning to go abroad – which is not true.
If students compete in entrance exams, what will happen? – Private school students will have a significant advantage in university admissions in Georgia as well, further increasing the existing inequality. Therefore, this issue should not only be seen through the lens of studying abroad.
He himself says that the main goal is to get as many people as possible into the labor market quickly. In other words, Kobakhidze speaks according to the interests of employers. It is unclear why these employers’ interest is to have less-educated people entering the labor market.
There are also those who enter the workforce directly after finishing school (about 10,000 or more people leave school every year), starting to work immediately. The less education these people have, the lower their chances of obtaining high-paying jobs.
11th-grade graduates will have less advantage compared to 12th-grade graduates because 12th-grade graduates will have one more year of education and cannot compete with them in the labor market.
When you finish 11th grade, the problem is not only going abroad, but also being unable to compete with those who have more education. Those who finish 12th grade and then enter a 4-year bachelor program will have 16 years of education, while the next generation will have only 14 years (11 + 3). This is a significant difference.
The fact that only private schools are allowed to offer 12th grade does not mean that they will necessarily use this right. They are not obliged to do so.
Why might they not use it? For them, it is additional income, likely increasing tuition fees. Not all private school students intend to go abroad. Therefore, when it comes to choice, some parents may decide to have their children finish only 11th grade.
Also, when Kobakhidze says that national objectives will be achieved in 11th grade, what will be taught in 12th grade? What will private schools offer these students? Therefore, this will cause significant chaos and, on the other hand, further increase inequality, which already exists in the system and should be considered.
Assuming private schools retain 12th grade, how well can they meet these requirements, and could this increase corruption in the sector?
Private schools face a problem because an unpredictable environment has been created. Now they need to determine how many students will want to take 12th grade, how many will stay in 11th grade, and then develop separate programs for each.
Some teachers may have fewer hours and, consequently, lower salaries. Separately, if 12th grade is not part of the national curriculum, then why should anyone even prepare textbooks for this grade? Does this mean the state will not print 12th-grade textbooks? Hence, it is unclear what the discussion is about. Any reasonable specialist would ask this question.
We have not even heard how the transition to this new system will occur. How many students will graduate at once? If 11th and 12th grades graduate together, we will have 80,000 graduates?
Kobakhidze did not explain this in Parliament or earlier. Yet, he says this process will start soon.
This will increase inequality because if university places are reduced and competition increases, and the number of graduates doubles suddenly (11th and 12th grades finishing together), then an even bigger problem arises.
Whether some of these students will be drafted into the military is also unknown. Some will enter the labor market, some may defer exams, and new applicants will be added next year. This is absurd. The only goal seems to be for as few people as possible to be fully educated, so that employers get cheap labor with limited options to refuse work.
Returning to rural areas: Students in villages already faced inequality and limited access to resources. This new model may increase migration from rural areas to cities if parents decide their children must complete 12-year education. For those who cannot, what does the state say that it cannot provide equal opportunities?
There is excellent research by Professor Maia Chanchselian from Oxford University showing that when young people perceive inequality, such as being unable to compete with others, they are less likely to choose prestigious schools – they no longer believe they can outperform others.
This system, which increases inequality, further reinforces this perception among rural youth. Even fewer young people will try to outperform those growing up in better conditions.
Does an unequal environment undermine self-confidence for young people?
Yes. Even students with equal scores in entrance exams may choose less prestigious universities because they do not believe they can compete with, for example, private school students.
Suppose parents understand this problem and decide to leave the village for their children’s future. This will further burden cities and depopulate villages. Kobakhidze also says he does not like when all students gather in one city. What will this achieve?
There will be interest in moving to cities for 12th-grade education, but separately, some parents have already considered sending their children abroad, not through the Georgian system.
For example, after Kobakhidze’s first announcement, a parent contacted me asking if their child could take 12th grade online at a foreign school. They are no longer interested in completing it in Georgia.
Kobakhidze speaks not as Prime Minister but as a representative of a construction company. He says construction needs labor, and they are seeking cheap workers – these are the same people currently in education.
I do not know how Kobakhidze envisions Georgia’s future, but it is clear that the “Georgian Dream” government prefers less educated people to maintain power. Society should be as closed as possible, with limited choices. If these people emigrate, they will no longer have the right to vote, and so on.
This is the full chain of “Georgian Dream” policy: who should be employers, how the authoritarian government should provide workers to these employers, limiting student numbers in universities – preventing organization when inequality is evident. All of this is an instrument to prolong governance.
Kobakhidze mentioned special classes for public schools. If 12th grade is still offered, why abolish it at all? Those who did not want to complete it would have left school anyway.
I do not know what curriculum these special classes will follow. If the national curriculum ends at 11th grade, a separate 12th-grade program must be created. Teachers need to know which curriculum they are teaching.
Kobakhidze said current students in schools and universities will not be affected by the new model. But if the process starts in February and buildings are vacated, where will the students go? Will new infrastructure be built in 4 years? Especially given the example of 30 kindergartens whose construction failed due to corruption.
A simple example: when Bidzina Ivanishvili opened a university in Kutaisi, he said there would be 60,000 students. Later, he reduced the number because he could not attract enough students. Now only slightly over 1,000 students study there, and the government is artificially redirecting students to this university.
How will 30,000 students go to Kutaisi University if students do not want to? I think they do not fully understand the consequences.
A separate law regulates Ivanishvili University, showing its privileged status. It is also privileged in funding, but still has not achieved what other universities, including private ones, have. Now the entire state apparatus had to intervene to redirect students there.
Such a massive artificial intervention in higher education has probably not been seen since the Soviet era.