Day: January 28, 2026

Georgia’s government has approved a National Concept for reforming the general education system, aimed at bringing it “into line with modern challenges” and ensuring students’ personal, academic and social development.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze signed a decree assigning responsibility for implementing the concept to the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth, working in coordination with other relevant government bodies.

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What the new concept sets out:

• Strengthening national identity, cultural distinctiveness and the state language.
• The education process should focus on developing critical thinking, communication skills, problem-solving abilities and creativity.
• Humanities subjects, such as history, Georgian language and literature, are intended to contribute to the formation of national identity and civic awareness.
• Deeper study of exact and natural sciences is expected to support the development of critical and systemic thinking.
• At primary level, the main focus will be on reading, writing and mathematical thinking, while at basic level interactive learning and a broader range of experiences will replace an overloaded academic curriculum.
• Upper secondary education will be tailored to professional and academic requirements. National examinations will be fully aligned with the curriculum, and 11th-grade students will receive school-organised preparatory tuition for the exams.
• Textbook development is expected to ensure depth of knowledge, systemic thinking and an understanding of national values. Textbooks will be regularly updated to allow the education system to respond to modern challenges.
• Students will receive an integrated learning experience that includes digital platforms, video resources, simulators and research-based activities.

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• School life will be adapted to students’ interests, with a focus on developing their creative potential and social skills. Non-formal education will become an integral part of school life, and extracurricular sports and creative programmes will be made systematically available to all students.
• Inclusive education will become a core element of the professional standard for teachers, while students with special educational needs will receive individualised support.
• Teacher professional development will be carried out on a systematic basis. The new model предусматривает staff training, addressing regional and subject-based imbalances, and establishing a clear career progression pathway. Teachers will have access to online and practical support, and salaries will be gradually increased.

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According to the authors of the letter, the reform would not solve existing problems but would only make them worse.

• School infrastructure will be developed, including laboratories, sports facilities, libraries, catering facilities and spaces for non-formal education. The school environment is expected to promote learning, student concentration, communication and healthy behaviour.
• Systems for preventing bullying and providing psycho-emotional support will be strengthened, while resource centres will offer appropriate professional support to school principals and teachers.
• A funding and governance system will be created that is tailored to the individual needs of schools and focused on student-centred service delivery. School autonomy will be increased, while accountability mechanisms will ensure transparency and flexible decision-making. In particular, from 2026 a series of direct meetings with parents is planned, aimed at strengthening cooperation between schools and families.

Education reform in Georgia

The outlet iFact has published an investigation claiming that 19 vessels believed to be part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” called at Georgian ports in 2024 and 2025.

According to the investigation, journalists spent two months monitoring ships entering the ports of Batumi, Poti and Kulevi before reaching their conclusions.

“During our observation, it was established that oil tankers arriving from Russian ports regularly switch off their automatic identification systems (AIS), falsify their coordinates and moor in open waters far from the coast while travelling along key oil transportation routes in the Black Sea,” iFact reported.

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It was previously reported that Russian company Russneft delivered the first shipment of oil to the recently opened refinery.

“Starting on 27 November 2025, we carried out systematic daily monitoring of Georgian ports — Batumi, Kulevi and Poti — and of all tankers transporting crude oil, petroleum products and chemical substances calling at these ports, using the tracking websites marinetraffic.com and globalfishingwatch.org as our main tools.

At the same time, we analysed port archive data to identify tankers that had previously entered Georgian waters. Vessels arriving in Georgia from Russia or from occupied territories of Ukraine were classified as suspicious,” the journalists said.

They added that they examined which flags the suspected vessels were sailing under, where they were registered, whether their names had changed, whether navigation systems had been switched off, whether the ships had international insurance, and which ports they had previously visited.

Additional information was obtained from the websites equasis.org and vesselfinder.com. Vessels meeting at least half of the listed criteria commonly associated with the so-called “shadow fleet” were classified by the journalists as belonging to that category.

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Russia is seeking to diversify its oil exports, a goal that has become even more relevant in light of Western sanctions.

What is the “shadow fleet”?

So-called “shadow fleet” vessels typically operate outside established international maritime regulations. They share a number of common characteristics:

• Old and substandard ships: Most of these vessels are more than 15 years old and often lack proper inspection regimes and regular maintenance.
• Opaque ownership: They are frequently owned by shell companies registered in offshore jurisdictions, making it difficult to identify the real owners.
• Lack of proper insurance: Such vessels usually operate without standard industry insurance, relying instead on small, unreliable insurers or sailing without insurance altogether.
• Flag manipulation: Operators regularly change a ship’s flag, registering vessels in countries with weak regulatory oversight — such as Gabon, Eswatini or Panama — or using falsified flag documentation.

The growing use of shadow fleet vessels has raised serious concerns within the international community for several reasons.

• Environmental risks: The use of ageing, poorly maintained and uninsured tankers significantly increases the risk of major oil spills. In the event of an accident, there are often no financial mechanisms in place to fund environmental clean-up or compensate for damage.
• Collision risks: By switching off tracking systems and transmitting false coordinates, these vessels pose a danger to maritime traffic and increase the likelihood of collisions on busy sea routes.
• Security threats: Some shadow fleet vessels are suspected of being involved in hybrid warfare activities, including espionage or the illegal transportation of weapons.
• Undermining sanctions: The scale of the shadow fleet — estimated to account for up to 20% of global oil trade — weakens the effectiveness of international sanctions regimes and regulatory frameworks governing the energy sector.

Russia’s shadow fleet