The registration of the National Center for Education Quality Development of Georgia in the European Quality Assurance Agency Register (EQAR) has been suspended. This is a very serious signal that could affect the international recognition of Georgian educational standards and diplomas, experts say. The information about the suspension of registration appeared on the EQAR website, UNN reports with reference to Novosti Georgia.
According to the explanations, the suspension is valid until the final decision on the appeal is made or the deadline for filing it expires. After that, the center will either be removed from the register or its registration will be renewed.
Information that EQAR intends to suspend its registration appeared in early December. This was preceded by the publication of the report of the expert group of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). It visited Georgia in the fall of 2023.
Local experts cited violations of European quality assurance standards as the cause. They argue that the problems are the result of the instrumentalization of the education system. According to them, the report concludes that the center is not free from political influence, and the quality assurance system is used as a mechanism of pressure on universities.
Georgian experts immediately warned of the most serious consequences of the deregistration: loss of confidence in the accreditation system, problems with the recognition of diplomas, an image blow to the educational system, and risks to European integration.
But the administration of the National Center for Education Quality Development disagreed with them. They emphasized that, although the conclusions contained comments, in general, the center fully complies with the standards and recommendations for quality assurance of the European Higher Education Area (ESG 2015).
The center also stated that it had eliminated the identified shortcomings and "made appropriate changes to the legislation in advance." The agency promised to appeal.
The Center assures that ENQA membership and EQAR registration are not related to the recognition of diplomas issued in Georgia.
"Prior to joining these organizations and until 2019, the recognition of diplomas issued in Georgia took place without any delays in the EU member states and in any other country," they said.
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