UNICEF, OSCE and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Georgia have praised the Georgian authorities for opening an Ukrainian sector at the 41st Grushevski Tbilisi Public School, where Ukrainian students fleeing war from the first to the eleventh grade have the opportunity to receive general education in their mother tongue.
211 Ukrainian students have been enrolled so far in the school.
Ghassan Khalil, UNICEF representative in Georgia, who has been hosted by Georgian Education Minister Mikheil Chkhenkeli in the school, welcomed the initiative of the Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili.
“Great to visit the school and meet with children displaced from Ukraine. Ukrainian children will receive education in their own language and curriculum,” Khalil tweeted.
He stated that the Georgian authorities and the country’s Education Ministry ensured the creation of an appropriate educational environment for Ukrainian students in the shortest possible time.
Chkhenkeli also briefed the head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Georgia, Kemlin Furle, on the educational process in the Ukrainian sector.
The UNHCR Georgia office responded to the process via its official Twitter page by saying that “Ukrainian children now have access to schooling throughout Georgia. UNHCR congratulates the Ministry on the establishment of the Ukrainian sector in Tbilisi Public School No. 41. “
During a meeting with Ukrainian students and teachers, Furle noted that it is “really impressive” to establish a Ukrainian-speaking sector in such a short period of time and to provide a safe environment for Ukrainian students, allowing them to return to their normal way of living.
At a meeting with OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Chkhenkeli spoke about the opening of the Ukrainian-speaking sector and personally informed the guest about the projects implemented by the Georgian government to support Ukrainian children.
For his part, Abdrakhmanov thanked the Government of Georgia and Minister Chkhenkeli for their support to the Ukrainian people and for providing students with access to general education in their mother tongue.
The Ukrainian sector in the public school was opened two weeks ago.
According to the decision of the Government of Georgia, Ukrainian students are enrolled in Georgian schools and kindergartens in a simplified manner.
At the moment, a total of more than 650 Ukrainian students are receiving education in various public and private schools across the country.
