Georgian Public Broadcaster to Arrange Live Lessons for School Students

The live broadcasting of lessons for school pupils will begin on the Public Broadcaster on 30 March.

Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia made this announcement during the session of the Coordination Council on the coronavirus.

The head of the government said that the joint initiative of the Ministry of Education and the Public Broadcaster is an important step forward given the pandemic.

"The educational process is suspended. The state of emergency has been declared until 21 April, though if we were to assess the situation objectively – of course there is a chance that the educational process will be resumed at the end of April but there is also a chance that it might not be.

"Therefore, the Ministry of Education took some prompt steps to strengthen remote teaching, and in general, to establish this direction in the country. They are successfully cooperating with the Public Broadcaster and specific lessons for high school students will start airing live on 30 April.

"Of course, it is ideal when a pupil has direct contact with the teacher in the classroom; however, given the situation that we are in during this pandemic, this is a step forward and we welcome the joint efforts of the Ministry of Education and the Public Broadcaster," he stated.

The prime minister called on Internet service providers to take the interests of students and pupils into account so that they can have easy access to the Internet. He thanked the minister of education for the initiative. 

"Furthermore, I would like to call on all Internet service providers to take the interests of both our students and our pupils into account, so that they can have easy access to the internet and, correspondingly, to remote lessons. This is precisely why television was used for this purpose – we are well aware that thus far, unfortunately, not all of our citizens have access to the Internet. This is an additional direction that the government should consider. Given the current reality, remote learning and education can become highly significant in our lives. Thank you, Mr. Chkhenkeli, and good luck," Gakharia stated.

Schools, universities and kindergartens will remain closed in Georgia until April 21 to curb the spread of COVID-19. 

In line with the government's decree issued on March 23, all types of training, conferences and seminars are prohibited, except for distance learning.

The government has likewise postponed all types of cultural and sports events.