“The Georgian government will submit legislative amendments to parliament that will resolve longstanding diploma recognition issues, affecting thousands of citizens who graduated before 2010,” Givi Mikanadze, Georgia’s Minister of Education, Science and Youth, announced.
According to the Minister, the amendments will place four-year full-time and five-year part-time degrees on an equal footing.
The changes will affect students who enrolled under an accredited programme but completed their studies after the institution lost its accredited status, as well as citizens who were admitted to universities before those institutions had obtained the requisite licence.
“We had a situation where our citizens completed a four-year programme, studied exactly the same number of subjects, and received exactly the same qualification as those on a five-year part-time course. Under the previous legislation, a five-year degree was considered equivalent to a Master’s qualification, whereas a four-year degree was recognised solely as a Bachelor’s. Under the new amendments, those who complete a four-year programme will receive a diploma equivalent to a Master’s degree, significantly broadening their employment prospects in their chosen fields.
“Before 2010, before a unified system was established, there was no registry in the education sector to keep students properly informed. There have been instances where certain universities, not yet accredited, failed to disclose this information to prospective students and proceeded to enrol them regardless. When the time came to issue diplomas, graduates found themselves unable to have those documents recognised.
Furthermore, some higher education institutions held authorisation for a limited period, only to lose it mid-course, again, without informing their students, who subsequently faced the same difficulties.
These legislative amendments will finally end the long, difficult process our citizens have endured to get diploma recognition, eliminating court appearances, appeals, and the significant time and effort they have invested. All of that will be consigned to history, and the diplomas of thousands of our citizens will at last be recognised,” said Givi Mikanadze.
