Giorgi Amilakhvari, a ruling Georgian Dream MP who was on Monday appointed as the country’s new education minister, has pledged to strengthen the vocational education direction while in office. 

“Vocational education will be declared a priority during my term as a minister, and in the near future we will offer you a concrete vision of how we intend to transform this sector”, he said. 

He also vowed to create “decent conditions for our meritorious teachers”, and to offer “additional social and financial support mechanisms to all those excellent students who have high academic performance”. 

Amilakhvari pledged “from today I will start active communication with all people involved in the field of education and science to discuss the problems and challenges we have and we will get immediate solutions”. 

The government administration said the former minister, Mikheil Chkhenkeli, would return to academic activities in Kutaisi International University.