2021-01-15
Public and private schoolchildren and teachers to enjoy concessional internet rates.
To enhance access to remote learning during the pandemic, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport has signed memoranda of cooperation with three Georgian mobile operators: Silknet JSC, MagtiCom LLC, and Vioni Georgia LLC (Beeline brand), to enable public and private schoolchildren and teachers to complete relevant procedures and enjoy discounted mobile internet packages throughout the 2020-2021 academic year. The concessional rates have been supported by the Communications Commission of Georgia.
Internet providers will offer students and teachers 20 GB mobile internet packages for 10 GEL, that is, 2.5 times cheaper than the standard rate. On the recommendations of the industry's experts, 20 GB is enough to attend online classes and search for online resources in the course of a month.
To enjoy said program, teachers and parents (or other family members) of students must provide the ID number of the given students or teacher to register on http://mobile.emis.ge, a special platform developed by the Education Management Information System LEPL and activate concessional packages on their cell phones. The Remote Learning internet package will be available through June.
Notably, the Government's measures toward continuous learning and access during the pandemic are widely recognized internationally. Anthony Salsito, Vice President of Education at Microsoft Corporation, praised the measures taken by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia to promote distance learning in during the COVID-19 crisis, also urging representatives of other countries to learn more about Georgia's approaches.
The Georgian Government's steps against the latest challenges in the area of education have also been commended by UNICEF Georgia.
The Head of the OECD Education Directorate singled out Georgia, alongside Finland, as the leader in adapting the system of education and successfully adopting remote learning under the COVID-19 crisis.
Shortly after the start of the pandemic, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia offered schools various remote learning platforms, such as Telechool, Microsoft Teams, FeedcEdu, and others.