The Ministry of Culture, Sport and Youth and the Ministry of Education and Science are the central government bodies responsible for arts and cultural education and training in Georgia.
The arts education system (similar to the general education system) consists of three main stages:
Stage I: primary education, including art schools (of music, fine arts, dance etc.). According to data from 2018, there are 258 such schools in Georgia.
Stage II: secondary vocational education, including art colleges (of art, music, dance, cultural education). In 2018 there were 26 art colleges in Georgia.
Stage III: higher education in culture is regulated by the Law on Higher Education which provides for specifics on art education in some issues. Today there are 12 institutions of higher art education in Georgia.
In 2004, after a long debate, the Law on Higher Education was drafted by the reformed Ministry of Education and Science. Following this Law, the first Universal National Exams were held in 2005. Difficulties have been created for art institutions, however, the unified system of assessment cannot cater for the specifics of practical art specialties. Consequently, discussions have been held between the Ministry of Education and Sciences and the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Youth to resolve the issues in arts education.
Delimitation of responsibilities of the two ministries is specified in the Law on Higher Education (Chapter III, Article 2, paragraph 2). Under the Law on Higher Education, Chapter 8, the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Youth of Georgia is the central body for the formation and implementation of policies in education, art and cultural heritage.
However, the institutional and curriculum accreditation of an art institute of higher education shall remain within the competence of the Ministry of Education and Science.
Higher education in Georgia consists of three stages: bachelor programmes, master programmes and doctorate programmes.
The National Examinations Centre is a legal entity of public law which ensures execution of Unified National and Joint Masters Exams and is authorized to carry out national assessments.
The first strategic goal of the Culture Strategy 2025, adopted in 2016, is devoted to raising awareness and education issues:
“Strategic Goal: Awareness Raising and Education
Goal: Culture and creativity is integrated across all levels of the education system and the public is aware of its importance
1.2. Objective: Culture and creativity constitute an integral part of formal pre-school, general and non-formal education. They develop creative skills and enhance interest in culture among children and youth.
1.3. Objective: Higher and vocational educational institutions produce highly qualified professionals for culture and other related fields, create interdisciplinary programmes for students studying culture, technologies, business and other areas and develop academic research in collaboration with research institutions.
1.4. Objective: Professional training and life-long learning programmes fully meet the requirements of the contemporary labour market and contribute to the increasing competitiveness of culture professionals.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs includes 14 LEPLs of art education, including 4 higher education institutions.
2022-2024
Apart from the executive branch, the Parliament of Georgia, in particular its newly appointed Culture Committee (from 2022) plays an important supervisory role. In this regard, the Committee’s role in the field of art education, arts education reform and the development of a package of legislative changes (not adopted as of November 15, 2024) is important.
In September 2023, the Culture Committee of the Parliament of Georgia established a special research group on “Inclusion of students with disabilities in state and private art education institutions”. In December, a discussion of the results of the study was held which revealed a number of important issues. Important recommendations were developed, the main addressees of which were identified as legislative and executive authorities.
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