Ajara Government Session

Ajara Government Session was held today. The chairman of the Government, Tornike Rijvadze, spoke about the increased tourist flows and statistics and noted that the number of visitors has increased, both in coastal cities and in mountainous Ajara.

‘At the very beginning of the tourism season, despite numerous attempts by the war party and related radical groups, whose main goal was to put our people without income through a false and disinformation campaign, to put it bluntly, it failed. The statistics of the visits to the coastal cities of Batumi, Kobuleti and the highlands of Adjara show that everything is going according to plan, in accordance with the tasks set by both the Department of Tourism and the government. Compared to last year, tourist flows have increased by 56%, and compared to 2019, the increase is 24%. Also, for us, it is especially gratifying that 45 new tourist destination objects have been added to the mountainous Ajara’, said Tornike Rijvadze.

It should be noted that international flights have increased at Batumi International Airport. According to the data of the 7th month of 2023, 1,436 international flights were made, which is an increase of +9.7% compared to the same figure last year. The summer tourist season in Ajara is going on successfully. According to statistics, the number of visits by domestic and foreign visitors increased by 56.6% as of the second quarter of 2023, and by 24% compared to the same figure in 2019.

The chairman of the government of Ajara called upon the Ministry of Education, the mayors of the municipality and the relevant services to carry out appropriate mobilization measures in both the infrastructural and organizational aspects regarding the renewal of the new school year. At the government session, a decision was made regarding the introduction of new programs and initiatives in order to encourage teachers and increase the effectiveness of teaching. According to the new initiative, 300 thousand GEL will be allocated. The purpose of the program is to encourage teachers and increase the effectiveness of teaching. Also, public school teachers will be involved in international projects and will be funded for their participation in projects, just like professors and teachers of higher education institutions and professional colleges.

‘We made a decision to create a separate fund for the support of teachers, the initial amount of which is 300 thousand GEL. I hope this will help the effectiveness of the educational process, improve student results, all teachers who will plan and implement new innovative projects in public schools will benefit from the 500 GEL supplement. Also, I would like to point out that in addition to teachers and lecturers of higher education institutions and professional colleges, teachers of public schools will also benefit and be fully funded to participate in international projects. I hope and am sure that these initiatives will contribute to the growth of teachers' motivation, which will ultimately affect the quality of education of the next generation,’ said Tornike Rijvadze.

In Ajara, in all municipalities, complete and partial rehabilitation of schools, as well as the construction of new schools, are actively underway. Within the budget of 2023, the budget for the construction and rehabilitation of public schools is 25 million. Construction and rehabilitation of 90 schools will be carried out this year. They also discussed the ongoing projects in the municipalities. It was mentioned that an important program for Batumi - "Batumi without emergency houses" is actively taking place in more than 10 locations. Within the framework of the program, about 3000 families living in dilapidated houses will be provided with new housing. Also, in all municipalities of Ajara, water supply and drainage systems are being arranged in cooperation with international partners and donors, which are planned to be completed by 2025.