On January 17, 2023, the Public Defender of Georgia addressed the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia with a general proposal to eliminate the problems identified in terms of career development of teachers of non-Georgian schools/sectors and to prevent discrimination.

461 teachers of non-Georgian schools/sectors applied to the Public Defender’s Office and indicated that the reforms carried out in the education system could not adequately respond to a number of systemic challenges faced by ethnic minorities. The difficulty of obtaining the status of a senior, leading and mentor teacher by practicing teachers is particularly acute, which may lead to their exclusion from the category of practicing teachers and deprivation of teacher status.

The Public Defender believes that for the integrity and consistency of the education policy of ethnic minorities, it is necessary for the State to take steps in this direction step by step.

In the general proposal, the Public Defender calls on the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia:

• In order to identify specific needs and respond to them, to consider professional development scheme and, in coordinated cooperation with relevant agencies, plan activities that will provide timely and effective status change opportunities for teachers of non-Georgian schools/sectors;
• In order to popularize the official language teaching programme, to expand the geographical area of programme implementation in all territorial units densely populated by ethnic minorities and to introduce teaching components adapted to the needs of the older generation of ethnic minorities.