Parliament has opened its review of fast-tracked amendments to Georgia’s Higher Education Law that would overhaul the university admissions process. Although the draft has been officially registered, the full text has not yet been released. Initial details were presented during a session of the Economic Policy Committee by Deputy Minister of Education Zviad Gabisonia.
Gabisonia pointed out a major structural change: applicants would no longer be able to submit multiple program or university choices. The current model allows students to rank several options and be placed in the highest available choice based on exam scores. As the Deputy Minister states, this system ultimately enables lower-scoring applicants to enter universities through their secondary preferences which he argues undermines overall quality.
Under the proposed approach, each applicant would select only one program at a single university. Admission would depend entirely on meeting the required score for that specific choice. The Ministry views this as a way to ensure that only top-achieving candidates enter higher education programs, a reform officials say is necessary to strengthen academic standards.
