All Georgian University Diplomas to be Recognized in the EU
Every diploma issued by Georgian universities will be recognized and valid in the European Union, Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze stated in his speech at today's event celebrating the accession of the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement into the European Association for Quality Assurance (ENQA).
The Head of Government praised accession to ENQA as a historic event marking Georgia's decisive and far-reaching step toward top standards of higher education.
"Georgia has taken yet another decisive and important step toward European integration. We have drawn closer to the European family in what I see as the most important direction, education. A few days ago, the European Association for Quality Assurance made a decision to accept Georgia as its member, which is a huge success. We can state without exaggeration that, given the idea of national importance announced by us, education is Georgia's key driving force," the Prime Minister stated.
According to Mamuka Bakhtadze, Georgia's universities will have practically every mechanism to meet every criteria required. The Prime Minister thanked Georgia's European friends and everyone engaged in the process for accepting the country into ENQA.
"I am especially excited and happy that the educational reform announced by us, our idea of national importance, is already bringing tangible results. It is a great victory, indeed. But we must also understand that it is a great responsibility, and we must actively work to meet every standard and criterion in the shortest possible period. We must channel all our efforts toward quality. It is a great responsibility to have diplomas issued by us recognized valid in Europe, in line with EU standards and criteria, and we must spare no effort to cherish that," the Head of Government emphasized.
The Government will work actively with Georgia's universities to develop a relevant action plan.
"We will have greater internationalization possibilities, and our universities will have a better chance of drawing closer to and cooperating with European schools of higher education. Georgian students and faculty will enjoy maximal mobility to work in Europe, to carry out joint scientific projects, and so on. All this will be related to enhanced financial resources, which actually is quarter of the country's budget, and most of these finances will target higher education, our universities," the Prime Minister said.
The importance of the accession of the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement into the European Association for Quality Assurance was underscored by Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Mikheil Batiashvili.
The event was attended by representatives of Georgia-accredited diplomatic corps and international donor organizations, members of parliament, provosts of schools of higher education, experts specializing in education, and representatives of the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement.