By working on inclusive education since 2004, Georgia has been making secondary education more accessible to students with special education needs (SEN) and disabilities. Between 2018 and 2020, for instance, the number of students with disabilities enrolled in Georgia’s public schools increased from 831 to 1246. This growth likely reflects an increase in awareness and access to education, as well as the state’s increased ability to provide inclusive education.

However, it is still a long way to go to fully inclusive physical infrastructure. According to the Ombudsman’s report, in 2019, out of 2084 school buildings only 120, or 6%, were fully adapted and 690 – a third – partially adapted.

Moreover, adapted infrastructure is not fully up to standards. According to the infrastructure census of public schools conducted in 2018-2019, some 520, or 23%, of 2,233 school buildings had ramps, but of those only 20% were in good or fair condition, the rest were in a poor condition or substantially damaged. The same assessment data shows that only 22 schools had an elevator adapted for students with disabilities and that only 323 schools – or 14% – had bathrooms adapted to students with disabilities. Of that number, 42% were in a poor or damaged condition.

Figure 1. Condition of infrastructure for students with disabilities, 2019-2019

Reference: 2018-2019 public school infrastructure database provided by ESIDA. Data available publicly on our interactive map.

Adapting only some components of physical infrastructure means that the students in need are unable to move freely across the school buildings, which is especially problematic in schools where several floors are used. Rural schools are more in need as 83% of the non-adapted schools are located in rural areas. While many rural schools tend to be small, enrolling just a few students, 392 rural schools with no disability adaptation have over 100 students, meaning that most likely they use several floors. While classrooms and resource rooms for wheelchair users are usually located on the ground floor, other rooms, including the library, cannot be accessed as there is no elevator. In addition, the thresholds in the doorways of classrooms create barriers for the independent movement of a wheelchair. According to the State Audit Office (SAO) report [p26], “the current situation poses a risk that students using wheelchairs will not be able to receive a proper school education, even though funds have been spent by the state to meet this condition.”

The draft Unified National Strategy of Education and Science of Georgia 2022-2032 that the ministry published for public consultation on December 7 this year , promises to continue improving the public school infrastructure and technical-material base, as “67% of these institutions are not fully adapted to upbringing and education of children with special needs, moreover, majority of them do not have adequate pedagogical resources”.

According to the 2018-2019 public school assessment data, urgent repair of damaged ramps and elevators and installing new ones are estimated to cost GEL 66 million – approximately 12% of the total urgent repair costs of the entire public school infrastructure budget, estimated at GEL 552 million. GEL 66 million is roughly GEL 30,000 per each of the 2,174 schools that require adaptability adjustments. The 2020 Ministry of Education budget for infrastructure development of general education institutions is a little over 84 million. The Municipal Development Fund and the Municipalities are also allocating funds for regional school development. Considering these factors and the scale of funding, schools need to work closely with their municipalities and communities, including preschool, in order to plan the adaptation renovations and budgeting in advance of enrolling students who use wheelchair. A unified database of school infrastructure and needs-based planning of relevant fund allocation is required, as well as timely coordination of relevant information with the Education and Science Infrastructure Development Agency (ESIDA).