Day: December 7, 2023

On December 6, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev described cooperation between Georgia and Azerbaijan as a partnership “much broader than energy cooperation” and spoke of its importance for Europe and the prospects for regional integration in the South Caucasus at the forum entitled “Karabakh: Back Home After 30 Years. Accomplishments and Challenges,” co-organized by ADA University (established under the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan) and the Azerbaijani think-tank Center of Analysis of International Relations. Azerbaijan’s President mentioned Georgia on more than one occasion when answering the participants’ questions.

Georgia-Azerbaijan cooperation “allowed us to present ourselves in Europe as a consolidated team of strategic importance,” President Aliyev said while answering a question about the impact of Georgia’s drift toward Europe on Azerbaijani-Georgia relations and the increased EU engagement in the South Caucasus.

Commenting on Georgia’s European aspirations, President Aliyev congratulated Georgia on the recent development towards the EU candidacy, wished it success but also underlined that it is a process in which “we know some countries waited for many years” mentioning Turkey and the Balkan states.

“I’m sure that when Georgia becomes an EU member, nothing will change in our relations. On the contrary, we will have another close friend in EU, which will defend us,” President Aliyev noted, expressing hope that “the Georgian members of European Parliament will educate European parliamentarians about Azerbaijan, and they [ed. MEPs] will be more realistic.”

President Aliyev was also asked about the prospects of the Benelux-like integration in the South Caucasus region, which he described as “absolutely realistic.” Stating that “maybe, it’s early to talk about integration” he noted, but that the countries of the region should start with consultations,” adding that “the first consultations took place in Georgia just recently on the sidelines of one international event” when the Prime Ministers of the three countries had a chance to meet.

President Aliyev went on to emphasize the “interdependence which is good” between Baku and Tbilisi, and underlined that “our Georgian friends here – they know that today Georgia’s energy security is absolutely on the safe side. No matter what happens between big players, no matter what is the weather, because it is a reliable source of supply. We know that for Azerbaijan, the reliable transit route is through Georgia.”

Also Read:

• 09/10/2023 – President of Azerbaijan Visits Georgia
• 07/04/2023 – PM Garibashvili Meets with President Aliyev in Azerbaijan

On December 5, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) published its report on the knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students in mathematics, reading and science. The PISA results provide insights into how well education systems are preparing students for real-life challenges and future success.

PISA is the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment. PISA measures 15-year-olds’ ability to use their reading, mathematics and science knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges.

In 2022, approximately 690 000 students, representing 29 million 15-year-olds in schools in 81 participating countries, took the assessment. In Georgia, 6583 students from 267 schools, representing 40 400 15-year-olds, completed the assessment.

Main trends:

In Georgia, average 2022 results were about the same as in 2018 in mathematics, reading and science. Slight modifications are still noticeable:

• In Reading, the score of 380 points in 2018 experienced a decrease of six points, falling to 374 in 2022;
• In Mathematics, the 2018 result of 398 points saw an eight-point decrease, reaching 390 in 2022;
• In Science, the 2018 score of 383 points in 2018 increased by one point, reaching 384 in 2022.

Source: OECD

However, students in Georgia scored less than the OECD average in mathematics, reading and science.

• In Reading, Georgian students scored 374 points, whereas the OECD average is 482;
• In Mathematics, the Georgian students achieved 390 points, compared to the OECD average of 480 points;
• In Science, the Georgian students scored 384 points, while the OECD average is 491.

What does the numbers say ?

Only 34% of Georgian students achieved at least Level 2 proficiency in mathematics, (significantly lower figure than the OECD countries’ average of 69%), which means that only 34% of students can “at least interpret and recognize, without direct instructions, how a simple situation can be represented mathematically”.

Only 33% of Georgian students attained Level 2 or higher in reading (OECD average: 74%), which means that “at a minimum, these students can identify the main idea in a text of moderate length, find information based on explicit, though sometimes complex criteria, and can reflect on the purpose and form of texts when explicitly directed to do so”.

Only 35% of students in Georgia attained Level 2 or higher in science (OECD average: 76%). “At a minimum, these students can recognize the correct explanation for familiar scientific phenomena and can use such knowledge to identify, in simple cases, whether a conclusion is valid based on the data provided,” – says the report.

Source: OECD

Gender differences in performance

On average, Georgian boys and girls performed similarly in mathematics, but girls outperformed boys in reading by 35 score points. In addition, girls had a 14-point advantage over boys in science.

School life

In 2022, 79% of Georgian students reported making friends easily at school, a figure close to the OECD average of 76%; however, only 51% felt a sense of belonging at school, well below the OECD average of 75%.

Feeling safe at and around school

PISA 2022 data revealed that 13% of Georgian students do not feel safe on their way to school, a percentage higher than the OECD average of 8%; furthermore, 11% of students reported not feeling safe in their classrooms, which is also higher than the OECD average of 7%.

Regarding bullying, 13% of girls and 15% of boys reported being victims of bullying at least a few times a month. These figures are lower than the OECD averages, which stand at 20% for girls and 21% for boys.

Also Read:

• 30/11/2023 – CoE OHTE Report on History Teaching in European Countries, including Georgia
• 22/11/2023 – Schools “to Gain More Autonomy” with National Curriculum Updates

#RafahCrossing
Open Rafah crossing unconditionally IN BOTH DIRECTIONS, let people escape and get help! – Google Search https://t.co/nI0jDHZC9X
Rafah border crossing – GS https://t.co/9MgOlOzTou pic.twitter.com/NvaTfkuwNI

— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) December 7, 2023