For Georgia Slams Education Reform as 'Rushed and Ill-Conceived'
By Messenger Staff
Thursday, May 14, 2026
Opposition party For Georgia has accused the Georgian Dream government of plunging university applicants into "unprecedented chaos and uncertainty" through a poorly executed education reform.
Speaking at a briefing, party member Tata Khvedeliani said the reform announced by Georgian Dream Prime Minister Kobakhidze in November 2025, and pushed through parliament beginning in December, was "a rushed and poorly thought-out step" that does not address the real challenges facing the country's education system.
Khvedeliani listed a series of failures in the reform's implementation. The applicant guidebook was published on April 4, two days before registration opened, rather than in February as is standard. Registration ran from April 6 to May 11, yet even after it closed, the funding model, methodology, and per-student financial norm for higher educational institutions had still not been determined. The deadline for submitting accreditation applications for educational programs was postponed by two months, creating what she described as serious challenges for institutions and all those involved. The government has also yet to issue a decree determining the distribution of faculties among higher educational institutions.
Khvedeliani also pointed to a draft law that began moving through parliament on the same day, which would allow students enrolled before December 17, 2025, to obtain or improve their funding opportunities. She said the fact that this amendment was being introduced now was itself proof of how rushed the original reform had been, since the December changes had effectively abolished the legal framework that previously allowed students to improve their grants.
"The main victims of this process are young people, their families, and the country's future generation," Khvedeliani said.
