Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has signed a decree ordering the liquidation of the International Education Center (IEC), a state-funded legal organization under public law. The decision, published in the official gazette ‘Sakanonmdeblo Matsne’, was issued on October 21 and will take effect on January 1, 2026.
The decree states that the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth will act as the successor of the IEC, inheriting all documentation and responsibilities following the center’s dissolution. The ministry has also been instructed to establish a liquidation commission which must complete all required procedures and measures by December 31, 2025.
The International Education Center was founded in 2014 with the goal of supporting the development of highly qualified professionals with international education and facilitating the integration of new knowledge into Georgia’s educational system. The center’s programs offered Georgian students the opportunity to study at leading global universities on the condition that they return to Georgia to apply their expertise in the country’s development.
The decision to dissolve the IEC follows Prime Minister Kobakhidze’s October 16 presentation of the ‘University Reform Concept Project’ which envisions a fundamental change of the higher education system. The reform restructures university funding models and brings it closer to the state’s vision.
Critics, however, have voiced concern that the proposed reforms and institutional changes, including the closure of the IEC, could undermine academic freedom and distance Georgia from European educational standards.
