Zurab Zhvania Georgian PA School Raising Civil Servant Competencies

The Zurab Zhvania Georgian School of Public Administration hosted a media tour in Kutaisi at which the representatives of central and regional media were able to familiarize themselves with the school’s activities, core competences and ongoing processes. Director of the school, Ketevan Jakeli, and other representatives of the school shared the school’s recent accomplishments with the audience.

The LEPL Zurab Zhvania School of Public Administration, operating under the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, was founded on June 10, 2005, on the basis of Presidential Decree N 476.  The School aims to raise the professional level and qualification of civil servants employed in the public sector. Civil servants are trained at the School within the framework of the Public Administration Program through specially designed educational programs.  The School regularly carries out studies to better understand the needs of civil servants with the intention of implementing new programs for their further development.

Civil servants are trained within the frame of two programs: ‘Public Administration’ and ‘State Language Training Program.’ The School focuses particularly on the representatives of ethnic minorities and supports their civic integration through educational programs.

In parallel with the above programs in Kutaisi, a State Language Program is implemented in the eight regional centers of the School (in Dmanisi, Akhalkalaki, Ninotsminda, Tsalka, Bolnisi, Marneuli, Gardabani, Lambalo-Sagarejo municipality) for ethnic minorities. The aim of the State Language Program is to train students in the basics of the State language, enabling them to write, read, prepare short messages, and create letters and documents in Georgian.

The School’s strategic development document was elaborated in 2014 by the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia. Structural changes were undertaken, and educational programs were updated to better fit the requirements and to meet the challenge of constantly having to re-train civil servants.

The Zurab Zhvania School of Public Administration cooperates with other state and educational institutions that carry out various kinds of training and practical programs for professional development, raising qualifications, providing practical skills necessary for career development and theoretical knowledge, overcoming deficit of qualified employees and ensuring integration into the state system in ethnically mixed and high mountainous regions of Georgia.

Makho Jighaurishvili