As of the recent data, Georgia has 64 authorized universities, majority of them are private. In addition, 60% of universities are located in Tbilisi. As of the acting legislation, the decision on the authorization of universities is made by the Authorization Board.
The University must meet several standards to gain the authorization, namely:
a) Mission and Strategic Development of the Higher Education Information (HEI);
b) Organizational Structure and Management of the HEI;
c) Educational Programmes;
d) Staff of the HEI;
e) Students and their Support Services;
f) Research, Development or/and Other Creative Activities;
g) Material, Information and Financial Resources;
According to education expert Simon Janashia, the reason for a large number of authorized universities in Georgia is the state policy, which is mainly focused on commercialization. However, the logic of authorization is to improve competition between the universities.
"The main problem of the operating universities is that less attention is paid to the researches, which determine the quality of education. Therefore, whether such universities exist or not does not affect the general picture. Such universities - in the classical sense, do not work," Simon Janashia said.
