Tbilisi's schools return to schools to Soviet times

From standardised textbooks prepared directly by the ministry to uniforms, education in Georgia is returning to the practices of the former Soviet Union. Even the age of enrolment in the first year has been raised to 6, reducing the number of classes in the entire school cycle to 11. The promise: ‘In all schools there will be a single approach, a single standard, a single level of quality.’

Tbilisi (AsiaNews) - Georgia's Ministry of Education has presented a ‘new concept of school education’ that reintroduces old elements reminiscent of Soviet times, from compulsory textbooks to uniforms, the age of enrolment and the ideological approach to be followed.

This is causing much controversy in Georgian society, which is commenting on social networks with slogans from the past: ‘Hurrah, Soviet Georgia!’ and ‘Long live the Pioneers!’

Education Minister Givi Mikanadze presented the reform, stating that the fundamental aim is to ‘address the major challenges of the system’. The most significant decision concerns school textbooks, which will be common to all schools and prepared directly by the ministry over the course of two to three years, thanks to the work of a group of selected experts, stating that “in all schools there will be a single approach, a single standard, a single level of quality”.

These statements reminded many of the past, of the “uniform greyness” of the USSR in terms of control of knowledge and thought. Another rule introduced by the ministry is the ban on the use of mobile phones and tablets, whereby mobile communication devices will be handed in and stored in designated places during lessons.

According to the Ministry, ‘a code of conduct will be observed that does not interfere with the school process, so that children have the opportunity to communicate with their parents and other important people when necessary.’

From the new school year in September 2025, school uniforms will therefore be compulsory for primary school classes, and ‘the Ministry assures its help to the most vulnerable families in this matter.’

Mikanadze outlined the characteristics of the school uniform, which is particularly important for adolescents ‘when they begin to choose how to dress’, in which ‘national symbols and those of the city or province of residence’ will be highlighted, although on this subject ‘there is room for joint evaluation, it is an idea yet to be realised’.

When the specific criteria are established, a competition will be launched, and everyone will be able to submit their solutions, until the final choice is made through an evaluation and even a vote on the matter.

From 2026, the age for starting primary school will also be raised to 6 years old, instead of the current 5, again returning to Soviet practices. According to the minister, younger children ‘are not yet able to fit into the education process.’

A new registration procedure based on the territorial principle is also being introduced, enrolling children according to their place of residence, so that ‘the school is close to home,’ a principle that will be introduced starting in the main cities and then in the provinces, with double registration, territorial and general.

Instead of 12 years of compulsory schooling, there will be 11, while the 12th year will remain optional, another initiative that has sparked numerous protests, including from experts in the field, as continuing higher education at foreign universities with only 11 years of schooling will entail various bureaucratic difficulties and will not be accepted at some institutions.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has specified that “those who want to study abroad will do the twelfth year, with special procedures”, with selection in March each year. The 11th year will still be “preparatory”, with the study of subjects necessary for national exams, so that students are not forced to pay for additional after-school studies.

However, the reform also has an ideological character, as Mikanadze pointed out, with a project that also involves the Patriarchate of the Georgian Orthodox Church for “education in national values”, as already tried in several schools with the help of the clergy, a factor that, according to the minister, “has gained great popularity and we intend to expand it as much as possible”.