On February 3, 2016, the Public Defender addressed the Speaker of Parliament with a proposal to make amendments to the bill on early and pre-school upbringing and education. The amendments were prepared by the Public Defender’s Office on the basis of the results of the monitoring carried out in the pre-school institutions, analysis of international legal standards and surveys.

The Public Defender believes that the law should reflect the commitment of the Ministry of Education and Science on preparation and introduction of professional development scheme and qualification standards for teachers, as well as methodological materials and textbooks for ethnic minorities; proportional distribution of children and teachers in groups should be carried out in compliance with international standards; the possibility of setting up additional groups should be considered, in order to introduce alternative and special education programs.

It should be noted that the system of municipal control and internal monitoring should be improved in order to ensure that ad hoc examination of educational institutions is based on the request of a legal representative of a child involved in the educational program; development and execution of conclusions must become mandatory on the basis of the results of monitoring and evaluation.

The Public Defender believes that the law should regulate the monitoring of food organizational rules and sanitary norms by the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs.

The Law of Georgia on Early and Pre-school Upbringing and Education (except for paragraph B of Article 15 and Article 22) will take effect on September 1, 2017. It should be noted that the current legislation does not provide for effective mechanisms for regulating early and pre-school upbringing and education, and therefore, it is needed to revise the date of enactment of the bill and to establish a reasonable period for enactment of its main provisions.

The Public Defender welcomes the initiative on drafting a law on pre-school upbringing and education and believes that it will become an important legal instrument for effective implementation of early and pre-school upbringing and education.