Georgian education reform includes introducing blockchains and more

At the beginning of this year, The Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtazdze introduced his plan to start a series of reforms for the education system, which has been widely criticized within the Georgian community.

According to Bakhtadze, Education is the Government’s number one priority, and this set of reforms is to bring sustainable development for the country. This plan consists of numerous phases, and the end goals are to turn the education into the domineering sector in Georgia’s economy.

Bakhtadze has previously acknowledged that during the 90’s the gap between the education and economy grew and the purpose of these reforms is to reduce this gap as much as possible.

On June 18, Bakhtadze met with the CEO of “Input Output HK Ltd” (IOHK), Charles Hoskinson to discuss the introduction of blockchains in the contemporary Georgian education system.

Blockchain is an emerging technology, with almost daily announcements on its applicability to everyday life. It is perceived to provide significant opportunities to disrupt traditional products and services due to the distributed, decentralised nature of blockchains, and features such as the permanence of the blockchain record, and the ability to run smart contracts. These features make blockchain technology-based products or services significantly different from previous internet-based commercial developments and of particular interest to the education sector.

Despite being convenient for dealing with finance and healthcare, potential uses for the blockchain extend beyond its current applications and could make a big difference in classrooms one day.

Because it is easier to keep track of and store information, the blockchain could be used to enhance library and information services in schools

Estonia was the first country to adopt e-voting through blockchain. Switzerland, Malta, Singapore, China, Japan, and the US are just a few of the countries actively using blockchain.

The Government of Georgia has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with blockchain technology firm IOHK to implement blockchain-enabled projects across the business, education, and government services.

The MoU has been signed between the Georgian Ministry of Education and Science and IOHK, and will see the two entities collaborate on developing the technical, commercial and operational capacities to foster blockchain projects and support fine tech businesses in the blockchain and digital asset sector.

“Blockchain technology is the most advanced technology today, with the introduction of many different countries around the world. Today, a major memorandum has been signed with the World Leading Company in the blocking technology company “Kardan Group,” which implies the introduction of the blocking system in the education system. The project will be unique in the sense that Georgia will be one of the first countries that will take care of the advanced education system on advanced third generation blocking technologies. I am delighted that such a company is going through the specific technologies that support education system reform. Preparatory works have already been carried out, and since July the active work will be started with the American experts, “said Mikheil Batiashvili, The Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport after the meeting.

In particular, the Georgian Government has identified higher education as an area of importance in which blockchain solutions can be used to ensure the secure verification of national university qualifications, as well to ensure their comparability with European ones. The Ministry and IOHK will reportedly further implement blockchain to bolster the security of confidential data and to integrate smart contract functionality into Ministry services.

The Prime Minister said that Georgia is one of the leaders in the introduction of the blockchain technology in the public sector and the partnership with the largest international technology company within the education reform is welcome. IOHK CEO positively assessed cooperation with Georgia and noted that modern technologies will help the country overcome the existing challenges. Charles Hoskinson is convinced that the partnership will be productive and successful and successful cooperation will be in the direction of capital markets, health care, and settlement system. It was noted that the work in this direction will start effectively from July and the country will have a definite result till the end of the year.

In addition to that, recently it became known that the Government of Georgia also plans to collaborate with Professors from Stanford University to conduct joint lectures as part of the plan to improve and develop Georgian Education System.

“The initiative of the Prime Minister of Georgia regarding the Education Reform is a special interest of our American colleagues,“ said Chkhenkeli.

Chkhenkeli praised the visit of the Prime Minister to the US and noted that new prospects for cooperation between the two countries in the education sector emerged.

“We met with Professors at Stanford University and decided to make joint courses with Georgian professors. Professors from Stanford University will be actively involved in the education reform as well as academic and scientific research, “- said Chkhenkeli

According to the PM’s advisor, Mamuka Bakhtadze held important meetings with high-tech companies in the frames of the visit, particularly in Silicon Valley, where the prospects for cooperation were also discussed.

The education reform implies complex and interdisciplinary approaches in all directions, which ensures the transformation of the uniform system of education.

The closer collaboration with Georgia’s strategic partners and adopting modern technologies from our allies to reach the desired results from this reform is a crucial part of success.