Educational Moves

Surveillance cameras were installed at public schools in Tbilisi on August 24.

As part of the Safe School concept initiated by the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili earlier this year more than 20 schools in Tbilisi have been equipped with surveillance cameras to monitor both indoor and outdoor areas of the schools. Preparatory work is being held in other schools around the capital and cameras will also be installed in the public schools of Kutaisi and Batumi in the near future.

The Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, Dimitri Shashkin and the General Director of United Security Company, Alexander Bibilashvili visited Tbilisi's public school No. 23, where United Security installed 16 indoor and outdoor surveillance cameras. The live surveillance system helps to monitor the school and help control safety. “The surveillance system installed in the public school complies with modern standards, which is a guarantee for continuous safety within the school territory. Indoor and outdoor parts of the school will be monitored not only by guards but by school principals through the special programme,” Shashkin explained to the school staff.

Meanwhile the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, Irine Kurdadze accompanied by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Georgia, Jamie McGoldrick distributed 750 new textbooks approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia among the Directors of Professional Education Institutions of Georgia.

The textbooks for training courses in 9 professions published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under a European Union funded initiative were presented to the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Education and Science on August 24 and will be used in the 16 professional colleges throughout the country.

“New textbooks help raise educational standards. UNDP will publish textbooks for another 4 professions this September,” commented the Head of UNDP Georgia.

The new textbooks are designed for professional training in construction, food processing and agriculture, according to the UNDP officials. They cover a range of professions, such as: plastering, carpentry, concrete working, welding, food processing, fruit and vegetable gardening, and viticulture.

“New curricula in professional education should consider international practice as well as the needs of Georgia's labour market,” Irina Kurdadze, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia said at the ceremony.

UNDP support to the development of professional education in Georgia is part of the joint EU/UNDP initiative in response to the August 2008 war. With Euro 4.4 million in EU funding, it is designed to provide more income generation opportunities and to encourage economic recovery in the conflict-affected regions.