Georgian education sector gets boosted by MCC support
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) $140 million Compact II with Georgia, launched in 2014 and implemented by the Millennium Challenge Account — Georgia (MCA-Georgia), is the first single-sector compact in the field of education. It aims at improving the quality of education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through strategic investments in general, vocational, and higher education with a focus on traditionally disadvantaged groups such as women and the socially vulnerable. By creating a better educated and better trained STEM workforce, the compact is designed to increase the welfare of the Georgian people and spur long-term economic growth. The project is expected to benefit more than 1.7 million Georgians.
Within the frameworks of the Industry-led Skills and Workforce Development (ISWD) Project, MCC’s grant funding of $12 million will support 48 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs at 10 TVET provider institutions, helping 1,450 highly skilled graduates find jobs in transport, oil and gas, agriculture, tourism, and other critical growth sectors. The grant award ceremony held on September 27th was led by MCC Deputy CEO Nancy Lee, who was joined by the Georgian Minister of Education and Science Alexandre Jejelava, US Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly, and MCA–Georgia CEO Magda Magradze.
The San Diego State University (SDSU)-Georgia partnership is MCC’s flagship investment in higher education and the only US university degree program in Georgia. Now in its second year, SDSU-Georgia is attracting Georgia’s best and brightest STEM students, who receive an American degree without leaving the country. 127 students, among them 55 young women, were enrolled at San Diego State University Bachelor Programs in Georgia in 2016. Local students from the capital and various regions of Georgia are joined by 12 international students from six different countries, and American exchange students from SDSU’s San Diego campus. MCA-Georgia’s higher education project “San Diego State University and Georgia 2020” delivers high-quality, accredited bachelor degrees in Georgia through the consortia comprised by SDSU and three Georgian state universities (Tbilisi State University, Ilia State University, and Georgian Technical University). Graduates of these programs obtain American degrees in STEM fields in Georgia. This $30 million investment through the MCC compact in higher education supports the establishment of a partnership between US and Georgian public universities with a contribution from the Government of Georgia.
MCC’s second Compact with Georgia also includes the Improved Learning Environment Infrastructure Activity under the Improving General Education Quality Project. In total, the project directs 54 milion USD of investment at the rehabilitation of up to 100 selected school facilities, utility upgrades, provision of science laboratories, and creation of a school operational and maintenance program, affecting up to 37,000 Georgian school children across the country. In September, MCA-Georgia opened 12 fully renovated schools in various regions. The first phase, which encompasses the rehabilitation of 30 schools, will be finished by the end of this year.
“Education is the top priority for the Government of Georgia,” noted Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili at the opening of one of the newly renovated schools. “Education reform as well as steps envisioned in this direction represent the most important parts of our four-point reform plan. Therefore, I once again welcome the US assistance provided in this particular area.”
Since 2006, the Government of Georgia and MCC have worked together to stimulate economic growth, reduce poverty, and unlock the enormous potential of the Georgian people. By the end of this decade, after two compacts, the Millennium Challenge Corporation will have invested almost $600 million in Georgia, representing a strong US partnership and commitment to the Georgian people.
More on MCC’s Compact II with Georgia
More on MCA–Georgia
More on SDSU-Georgia