Higher Education as Refuge: Georgia’s Response to National and Foreign Refugee Crisis

In the case of Georgian territories affected by occupation, it was crucial to ensure procedural justice and equity. Within the framework of crisis responsiveness Georgia established a legal framework to recognise education obtained in these occupied territories, allowing fair recognition procedures by acknowledging the frequent unavailability of archival records. These regulations have been revised multiple times based on analysis of practical experience. Under Georgian legislation, documents issued by self-proclaimed republics are not legally valid. Individuals must replace such documents with official Georgian state documents. The same principle applies to documents from other self-proclaimed territories - validity is granted only when documents are officially replaced in accordance with the host country’s format. Since 2022, refugees from Ukraine have comprised the majority of education recognition applications in Georgia. Given the urgency and volume of requests, flexibility became essential. A major challenge was verifying the authenticity of documents, as many Ukrainian applicants were unable to obtain or present original documents due to fleeing crisis. To address this, Georgia allowed educational documentation retrieved from Ukraine’s Unified State Electronic Database on Education to be accepted as valid under force majeure conditions, without requiring apostille or legalisation. Without this adaptation, Ukrainian refugees’ access to education would delay significantly. Furthermore, Georgia introduced legislative changes to create a clear formal procedure for recognising education received by individuals with international protection status who are unable to submit documents evidencing education, ensuring a more transparent and fair process. Georgia’s approach serves as a secure pathway for refugees to uphold the right to education and demonstrates the critical importance and effectiveness of adaptable recognition mechanisms in an increasingly internationalised context.

This paper was presented at EQAF and reflects the views of the named authors only.

ISSN: 1375-3797

Higher Education as Refuge: Georgia’s Response to National and Foreign Refugee Crisis

Ana Kamladze, Mariami Kurtanidze, Salome Abramishvili

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