Page 36 - Tvisobrivi kvleva__GEORGIA - English

curricula. The latter refers to the practice of di- Widening the pool of training providers has
viding the vocational education course into learn- prompted the need to elaborate the procedures
ing modules. Students are not obliged to take all to licence them, and to ensure that the training
the modules in order to obtain state certification. providers meet the national educational stand-

They can choose to take up only one module, or a ards. As a result, the government adopted
combination of modules, and accordingly receive Decree No. 131 on the “procedures for ob-
a partial qualification. Another important develop- taining the right to implement short-term vo-
ment has been the introduction of dual education cational training/retraining courses, and the
programmes, which ensure that at least 50% of rules and conditions for acknowledgement
learning outcomes are achieved within real work as a training provider” . The Decree states
82
environments (more information about VET pro- that short-term vocational courses may be im-

grammes is provided in Chapter VII). plemented by any legal body, providing that they
meet the quality standards. The decree sets out
The 2013-2020 VET strategy paper is considered the steps and procedures that the applicant has
to be outdated today, and the VET department at to go through. The NCEQE is in charge of ensur-
the MoES is currently in the process of updating it ing that training programmes which are submit-
in order to reflect the vast magnitude of changes ted are in compliance with national standards.
introduced by the new VET Law. The VET department maintains the database
of acknowledged training providers, including
Among the recent developments directly related “training enterprises”.

to promoting adult education is the introduction
of short-term training courses for adults. While it Georgia’s higher education system has under-
was possible to provide short-term courses even gone a significant transformation over the past
before the adoption of new VET Law, those were decade. A number of steps have been taken for
not considered formal training, and no appropriate the purpose of integration into the European
certificates were issued. With the current chang- Higher Education Area (EHEA) and the Europe-
es, the VET system introduces short-term train- an Research Area, for the development of the

ing courses: Alongside the general VET diploma quality of education, and the internationalisation
courses (which run for 2 to 3 years on average), of the Georgian higher education system: the
there is now the opportunity to carry out short- introduction of a three-stage system of higher
term vocational courses (up to 3 months) lead- education, the European Credit Transfer and
ing to a formal qualification. The pool of training Accumulation System (ECTS); internal and ex-
providers is widening, and can now include pri- ternal quality assurance systems have been put
vate enterprises and non-formal providers which into place; the National Qualification Framework
receive appropriate authorisation. This marks a has been created; the mobility of students and
sea change, since it opens up the pool of training academic personnel has become possible with

providers to any interested legal body (including Georgian participation in the EU’s Erasmus pro-
private companies and non-formal providers). gramme.

82 Government of Georgia, Decree No. 131 on the procedures for obtaining the right to implement short-term vocational
training/retraining courses and rules and conditions to be acknowledged as a training provider

34 German Adult Education Association │ DVV International