On Education Quality Improvement

LAW OF GEORGIA

ON EDUCATION QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Chapter I - General Provisions

Article 1 - Purpose of the Law

The purpose of this Law is to define the legal basis for the mechanisms, which facilitate education quality improvement.

Article 2 - Mechanisms facilitating education quality improvement

1. Education quality improvement shall be facilitated by means of internal and external mechanisms.

2. External mechanisms of the facilitaiton of education quality improvement shall be authorisation and accreditation.

3. Internal mechanisms of the facilitaiton of education quality improvement shall be applied by educational institutions, as provided for by the legislation of Georgia.

Chapter II - Body authorised to apply external mechanisms for the facilitation of education quality improvment

Article 3 - National Centre for Educational Quality Enhancement

1. A legal entity under public law (LEPL) – the National Centre for Educational Quality Enhancement ('the Centre') within the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia ('the Ministry') shall be established for the facilitation of educational quality enhancement.

2. The Centre shall be independent in its activities. The Centre shall perform activities on the principles of publicity and transparency, under the Constitution of Georgia, international agreements and treaties of Georgia, this Law, other legislative acts, the statute of the Centre approved by the Ministry, and other legal acts.

3. Regarding the activities of the Centre, under the procedure established by the legislation of Georgia, the Ministry shall:

a) approve the statute of the Centre;

b) approve the regulations ('the authorisation regulations') and fees for the authorisation of educational institutions;

c) approve the regulations ('the accreditation regulations') and fees for the accreditation of the educational programmes of educational institutions;

d) approve the procedure and fees for the verification of the authenticity of educational documents issued in Georgia and of the recognition of education acquired abroad;

e) approve the procedure for keeping the register of educational institutions;

e¹) approve the fee for the verification of linguistic accuracy of of a strict accounting document – a state document certifying education;

f) determine timeframes and/or fees for services rendered by the Centre;

g) exercise other rights determined by the legislation of Georgia.

Law of Georgia No 4790 of 17 June 2011 - website, 28.6.2011

Law of Georgia No 5348 of 25 November 2011 - website, 6.12.2011

Law of Georgia No 347 of 20 March 2013 - website, 29.3.2013

Article 4 - Legal status of the Centre

1. The Centre shall be a legal entity under public law within the Ministry, established by this Law.

2. The head of the Centre shall be a director appointed and dismissed by the Minister of Education and Science of Georgia in coordination with the Prime Minister of Georgia.

3. Rights and obligations of the director of the Centre, structure of the Centre and the scope of authority of its structural units shall be determined by the statute of the Centre.

4. Public control of the Centre shall be performed by the Ministry, as provided for by the legislation of Georgia.

Article 5 - Basic areas of activities of the Centre

The Centre, within the scope of its authority, shall:

a) facilitate educationl quality improvement and develop recommendations for this purpose;

b) perform authorisation of educational institutions and accreditation of educational programmes of educational institutions;

c) provide verification of authenticity of educational documents issued in Georgia, including their legalisation and apostille certification;

d) provide recognition of education acquired abroad;

e) keep a register of educational institutions;

e¹) (Deleted – 20.3.2013, №347);

e²) provide verification of linguistic accuracy of a strict accounting document– a state document certifying education;

f) exercise other rights determined by the statute of the Centre.

Law of Georgia No 5348 of 25 November 2011 - website, 6.12.2011

Law of Georgia No 347 of 20 March 2013 – website, 29.3.2013

Article 6 - Property and financing of the Centre

1. The Centre shall have property for achieving its goals and performing its functions, which shall be formed as provided for by the legislation of Georgia.

2. The property of the Centre shall be comprised of fixed assets and current assets, as well as other material valuables and financial resources, which shall be reflected in the independent balance sheet of the Centre.

3. Sources of financing of the Centre shall be:

a) targeted resources allocated from the State Budget of Georgia;

b) fees for services provided by the Centre;

c) purpose loans and grants;

d) income from the work performed on the basis of a contract;

e) income in the form of gifts and donations;

f) other income allowed by the legislation of Georgia.

4. Funds and income determined by paragraph 3 of this article shall be completely used for achieving the goals and performing the functions of the Centre.

Chapter III - Authorisation

Article 7 - Purpose and content of authorisation. Authorisation standards

1. Authorisation is the procedure of acquiring educational institution status in order to meet standards necessary for implementing appropriate activities for issuing a document certifying education recognised by the state.

2. Authorisation standards shall be as follows:

a) educational programmes;

b) material resources;

c) human resources.

3. Conditions for meeting authorisation standards and the rule of authorisation shall be determined by authorisation regulations.

Article 8 - Institutions subject to authorisation

1. The following institutions (’applicants’) shall be subject to authorisation:

a) applicants for the status of a general education institution;

b) applicants for the status of a vocational education institution;

c) applicants for the status of a higher education institution.

2. An applicant shall state in the authorisation application that in the case of acquiring authorisation, it shall implement (one of the following):

a) a primary general educational programme;

b) a basic general educational programme;

c) a secondary general educational programme;

d) a vocational educational programme;

e) an educational programme for Bachelor's studies;

f) an educational programme for Master's studies;

g) an educational programme for Doctoral studies;

h) other educational programmes, which require mandatory accreditation under the legislation of Georgia, and educational programmes, which are related to the issuance of documents certifying education recognised by the state.

3. An educational institution shall be authorised to implement only the educational programme/programmes indicated in the authorisation application, and the programmes indicated in a self-evaluation report during the term of authorisation.

4. The following shall not be subject to authorisation:

a) an entity performing educational activities, which do not imply issuance of a document certifying qualification;

b) individual educational activities of a natural person, including those in the field of vocational training.

5. An institution that has acquired the status of a general, vocational or higher education institution shall not be authorised to acquire any other status of an educational institution, without establishing another independent legal entity. A general educational institution shall be authorised to implement educational programmes of the first three stages of vocational education, while a higher educational institution shall be authorised to implement a vocational educational programme without acquiring an additional status. An Authorisation Council of a general education institution or an Authorisation Council of a higher education institution, respectively, shall make a decision in this regard.

6. Failure to meet the requirements specified by paragraphs 3 and 5 of this article may cause revocation of authorisation.

Law of Georgia No 347 of 20 March 2013 - website, 29.3.2013

Article 9 - Self-evaluation of an applicant

The first stage of the authorisation process shall be a self-evaluation carried out by an applicant according to a form preliminarily provided by the Centre.

Article 10 - A group of authorisation experts

To provide authorisation of general, vocation and higher educational institutions, the Centre shall form groups of authorisation experts for general, vocation and higher education institutions respectively, the procedure for formation and activities of which shall be determined by the authorisation regulations. An applicant shall be authorised to exercise its right to decline experts, as provided for by the authorisation regulations.

Law of Georgia No 347 of 20 March 2013 – website, 29.3.2013

Article 11 - Decisions regarding authorisation

1. Decisions regarding the authorisation of general, vocation and higher education institutions shall be made by the authorisation councils of general, vocation and higher education institutions ('the Authorisation Councils'), whose members shall be appointed and dismissed by the Prime Minister of Georgia upon the recommendation of the Ministry. Members of Authorisation Councils shall not be civil servants. Powers of the Authorisation Councils shall be determined by the authorisation regulations, which guarantee their functional independence from educational institutions and state bodies.

2. Based on the authorisation documentation and the opinion of an appropriate group of authorisation experts, the Authorisation Councils shall make one of the following decisions:

a) to grant an authorisation;

b) to deny an authorisation;

c) to revoke an authorisation.

3. Authorisation Councils must justify the decisions they render.

4. Decisions on authorisation or on denial of authorisation shall be made within 90 days after recognition of an institution as an applicant.

5. A decision specified in paragraph 2 of this article shall be published on the Centre's website within 10 days.

6. Times for submission of an authorisation application must provide for the continuity of the status of an educational institution. The Centre must notify the educational institution on the expiry of the term of authorisation six months prior to its expiry.

Law of Georgia No 347 of 20 March 2013 - website, 29.3.2013

Article 12 - Decision regarding granting authorisation

1. Decisions to grant an authorisation shall be made if an educational institution meets all authorisation standards.

2. The term of authorisation shall be five years.

3. If a decision to grant an authorisation is made, the Authorisation Councils shall determine the limit of the number of pupils, or students of an institution implementing vocational educational programmes or students of higher education institutions for an appropriate educational institution within the term of the authorisation, as provided for by the authorisation regulations.

Law of Georgia No 347 of 20 March 2013 – website, 29.3.2013

Article 13 - Legal consequences of authorisation

As a result of authorisation, an educational institution shall be entitled to admit pupils, vocational students and students, as provided for by the legislation of Georgia, and issue documents certifying qualification.

Article 14 - Decisions to deny an authorisation

A decision to deny an authorisation shall be made if an educational institution fails to meet one of the authorisation standards.

Article 15 - Verification of terms of authorisation and revocation of authorisation

1. The Centre shall monitor the perfomance of the terms of authorisation by an educational institution. If a violation is identified, the Authorisation Councils shall be empowered to provide up to 15 days for the educational institution to correct flaws, unless it is obvious that this will have no effect.

2. The terms of authorisation shall be verified annually by submitting a self-evaluation report to the Centre, as well as on the initiative of the Centre.

3. Upon the recommendation of the Centre, the Authorisation Councils shall be empowered to make a decision to revoke an authorisation based on the results of an inspection of an educational institution, if the educational institution violates authorisation standards or legislative norms of Georgia in the field of education regarding origination, suspension or termination of the status of a pupil, a vocational student or a student of an educational institution.

Law of Georgia No 5348 of 25 November 2011 - website, 6.12.2011

Law of Georgia No 347 of 20 March 2013 – website, 29.3.2013

Article 16 - Legal consequences of denial or revocation of authorisation

In case of denial or revocation of authorisation:

a) an institution shall not be able to obtain or shall be deprived of the status of an educational institution;

b) pupils shall have the right to opt for another appropriate institution;

c) students shall have their status of students suspended for five years, and they shall have the right to exercise their right of mobility.

Chapter IV - Accreditation

Article 17 - Purpose and content of accreditation

1. The purpose of accreditation shall be to establish systematic self-evaluation of educational institutions and to facilitate the development of quality assurance mechanisms for improving the quality of education by determining the compliance of the educational institution's educational programmes with the accreditation standards.

2. State education grants and state education grants for Master's degrees shall be awarded for financing accredited educational programmes of higher education institutions, except for Orthodox theological education institutions.

3. Educational programmes for regulated teachers' training and Georgian language training, as well as educational programmes for Doctorate, except for Doctorate in Orthodox theological education institutions, may be implemented only upon acquiring accreditation.

Law of Georgia No 188 of 28 December 2012 - website, 29.12.2012

Article 18 - Accreditation standards

Accreditation standards shall be as follows:

a) the purpose of the educational programme, outcome of learning and the compliance of the outcome with the programme;

b) methodology and organisation of the study process, adequacy of evaluation of mastering the programme;

c) achievements of pupils/students, and individual work with them;

d) provision with resources necessary for the study process;

e) possibilities for education quality improvement.

Article 19 - Accreditation process

1. The Centre shall carry out accreditation.

2. The Educational Programmes Accreditation Council ('the Accreditation Council') shall be formed for rendering decisions regarding accreditation, whose members shall be appointed and dismissed by the Prime Minister of Georgia, upon the recommendation of the Ministry. A civil servant may not be a member of the Accreditation Council. The powers of the Accreditation Council shall be determined by accreditation regulations which guarantee its functional independence from educational institutions and state bodies.

Article 20 - Self-evaluation of an accreditation applicant

The first stage of accreditation process shall be the self-evaluation carried out by an accreditation applicant according to a form preliminarily provided by the Centre.

Article 21 - A group of accreditation experts

For carrying out accreditation, the Centre shall form a group of experts, whose formation and activities shall be determined by the accreditation regulations.

Article 22 - Decisions regarding accreditation

1. Decisions regarding accreditation of educational programmes of educational institutions shall be made by the Accreditation Council, based on the opinion of a group of accreditation experts, as provided for by the legislation of Georgia.

2. Decisions regarding accreditation may be of three types:

a) granting accreditation;

b) denying accreditation;

c) revoking accreditation.

3. The term of accreditation shall be five years. In the case of expiry of the term of authorisation or revocation of authorisation the accreditation shall be revoked.

4. Timeframes for submitting an accreditation application must provide for the continuity of accreditation of an educational programme.

Article 23 - Verification of terms of accreditation and revocation of accreditation

1. The Centre shall monitor the performance of the terms of accreditation by an educational institution. If a violation is identified, the Accreditation Council shall be empowered to define up to 15 days for an educational institution to correct flaws, unless it is obvious that this will have no effect.

2. The terms of accreditation shall be verified annually by submitting a self-evaluation report to the Centre, as well as on the initiative of the Centre.

3. Upon the recommendation of the Centre, the Accreditation Council shall be empowered to make a decision to revoke accreditation based on the results of an inspection of an educational institution, if the institution violates the terms of accreditation.

Law of Georgia No 5348 of 25 November 2011 - website, 6.12.2011

Article 24 - Legal consequences of denial or revocation of accreditation

In case of denial or revocation of accreditation:

a) a higher education institution shall be deprived of the right to acquire state education grants for appropriate educational programmes and state education grants for the Master's degree;

b) students, whose education was financed by the state shall have the right to opt for another accredited educational programme and to transfer the remaining part of the sum allocated to him/her by the state to pay for his/her tuition to that educational programme.

c) a higher education institution shall terminate the implementation of regulated teachers' training and the Georgian language training, as well as educational programmes for Doctorate. In such a case students shall have their status of students suspended for five years, and they shall have the right to exercise their right of mobility.

Chapter V - Authority of the Centre in Verification of Authenticity of Educational Documents and Recognition of Acquired Education

Article 25 - Verification of authenticity of educational documents issued in Georgia

1. During the verification of authenticity of educational documents issued in Georgia, the Centre shall determine whether the person has undergone an educational programme in full or in part, and whether an appropriate document certifying his/her qualification has been issued to him/her, as well as the compliance of these facts with requirements of the Georgian legislation.

2. Legalisation or apostille certification shall verify the authenticity of a signature and a stamp or a seal, as well as the scope of authority of the signatory of a document issued by the Ministry and the bodies within its system, as well as by Georgian educational institutions, and the compliance of the form and content of the document with the requirements of the Georgian legislation.

Article 25¹ – Recognition of education acquired in Georgia

1. The Centre shall recognise higher education acquired in the occupied territories, higher education acquired by persons admitted to licensed higher education institutions, education acquired by persons who cannot confirm their education or qualification acquired at educational institutionsthat have been liquidated or terminated their educational activities, as well as education acquired by refugees and internally displaced persons from the occupied territories of Georgia.

2. The Centre shall be authorised to issue a document certifying the recognition of acquired education determined by paragraph 1 of this article - a professional diploma/a diploma.

3. The Ministry shall be authorised to determine a fee for issuing a document specified in paragraph 2 of this article.

Law of Georgia No 5348 of 25 November 2011 - website, 6.12.2011

Law of Georgia No 5639 of 27 December 2011 - website, 9.1.2012

Article 26 - Recognition of education acquired abroad

For the recognition of education or qualification acquired abroad, the Centre shall determine:

a) whether an educational document has been issued in the name of the person indicated in the document, and whether an educational institution issuing the document is recognised by the legislation of the country, where the educational institution carries out its educational activities (verification of authenticity);

b) compliance of a qualification acquired abroad with qualifications existing in Georgia (establishment of compliance).

Chapter VI - Authority of the Centre Regarding Keeping a Register of Educational Institutions

Article 27 - Keeping a register of educational institutions

1. The register of educational institutions ('the Register') shall include information regarding educational programmes of the institution, including information regarding the staff implementing the programme and the persons admitted to the programme.

2. Conditions of keeping a register, entities responsible for entry of information into the register, the procedure of entry of information into the register, making alterations to the registered information and removal of information from the register shall be determined by the Ministry.

3. In order to provide the software for the register, the Centre shall create an interactive data-base, whose form shall be approved by an individual administrative act of the Director of the Centre.

Article 28 - Obligations of an educational institution; presumption of accuracy of the register data

1. An educational institution shall be obliged to enter appropriate information into the register within the set time.

2. Failure of an educational institution to enter information into the register in due time may cause the termination of or denial to perform appropriate activities on the basis of the register data by the Centre.

3. In the case of discrepancy between the information included in the legal acts of an educational institution and the relevant information registered in the register, the register data shall be taken into consideration.

4. In the cases specified by the legislation of Georgia, the Centre shall be authorised to determine the forms of approval of the information entered into the register.

Article 29 - Responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the information entered into a register

1. The accuracy and completeness of the information entered into a register shall be the responsibility of the educational intstitution.

2. The Centre shall be authorised to check the information entered into a register by an educational institution, and if a violation is revealed, to apply measures established by the legislation of Georgia.

Chapter VII - General Principles of Defining Fees and Times for Services Rendered by the Centre

Article 30 - Fees for services rendered by the Centre

1. The fee shall be a mandatory payment, including the value added tax, for the services rendered by the Centre, determined by an act of the Ministry.

2. The fee shall be paid by a bank transfer, prior to rendering the appropriate services.

3. The fee shall be transferred to the settlement account of the Centre.

Law of Georgia No 5348 of 25 November 2011 - website, 6.12.2011

Article 31 - Payment of fees for services rendered by the Centre, commencement of time determined for services and refund of paid fees

1. Time limits and fees for services rendered by the Centre shall be determined by an act of the Ministry.

2. An interested person shall be obliged to pay the fee determined by an act of the Ministry.

3. The period established by an act of the Ministry for services shall commence on the day following the registration of an application and shall finish upon the expiry of the last day of the period. If the last day of the period is Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday, the following working day shall be considered as the day of the expiry of the timeframe.

4. Paragraph 3 of this article shall not apply to expedited services determined by the act of the Ministry.

5. The procedure for refunding fees paid for services rendered by the Centre shall be determined by an act of the Ministry.

Chapter VIII - Transitional Provisions

Article 32 - Measures related to entry into force of this Law

1. The Government of Georgia shall ensure the compliance of Ordinance No 37 of 21 May 2004 on the Approval of the Statute of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia with this Law, before 15 September 2010.

2. The Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia shall ensure the approval of legal acts specified by Article 3(3)(a) and (b) of this Law, before 15 September 2010, and the approval of legal acts specified by Article 3(3)(c-e) of this Law, before 1 March 2011.

3. The President if Georgia, the Government of Georgia, the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, and educational institutions shall ensure the compliance of the appropriate legal acts with this Law before 1 March 2011.

4. The legal entity under public law (LEPL) – the National Centre for Education Accreditation shall be reorganised into the LEPL - the National Centre for Educational Quality Enhancement. The LEPL – the National Centre for Educational Quality Enhancement shall be the successor of the LEPL – the National Centre for Education Accreditation.

5. The LEPL - the National Centre for Educational Quality Enhancement shall be the successor of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia in the field of performed and ongoing activities of the Licensing, Legalisation and Apostille Division within the Legal Issues Department of the Ministry.

6. The Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia shall be assigned to perform measures necessary for the reorganisation of the LEPL – the National Centre for Education Accreditation into the LEPL – the National Centre for Educational Quality Enhancement. Until the completion of these measures, the functions of the LEPL – the National Centre for Educational Quality Enhancement shall be performed by the LEPL – the National Centre for Education Accreditation, while the functions of the Licensing, Legalisation and Apostille Division within the Legal Issues Department of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia shall be performed by the Ministry.

Article 32¹ – Authorisation of Orthodox theological higher education institutions

Orthodox theological higher education institutions, established by the Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church on the basis of this Law, shall be considered authorised until 1 January 2015, under this Law. From 1 January 2015, the Orthodox theological higher education institutions shall be subject to authorisation, as provided for by the legislation of Georgia.

Law of Georgia No 188 of 28 December 2012 - website, 29.12.2012

Chapter IX - Final Provision

Article 33 - Entry into force of the Law

This Law shall enter into force on 1 September 2010.

The President of Georgia                                                                                                                                       M. Saakashvili

Tbilisi,

21 July 2010

No 3531–ES