Opening a secondary school in Georgia is done not through a "licence" but through authorization — a procedure established by Article 32 of the Law on General Education. The secondary level is its own independent authorization unit: the law defines it as grades X and XI plus an optional 1 year — grade XII — and it is precisely the right to implement this programme that is acquired through authorization. This page explains what authorization gives, for how long, and what completing the secondary level means for the pupil.
Authorization, not a licence — Article 32
Under paragraph 1 of Article 32, as a result of authorization a legal person obtains the status of a general educational institution and is authorised to issue a state-recognised document confirming general education. The authorization standards are determined by the authorization statute of educational institutions, and the term of authorization is 9 years. Licensing as a separate procedure does not exist in general education — the word survives in everyday speech, but in substance the matter concerns authorization.
The legal definition of the secondary level — Articles 2 and 6
Under the definition of Article 2, complete general education in Georgia comprises 3 levels: primary (6 years — grades I-VI), basic (3 years — grades VII-IX) and secondary (2 years — grades X and XI plus an optional 1 year — grade XII). Complete general education covers no less than 11 and no more than 12 years, and the learning outcomes of the secondary level correspond to level 4 of the National Qualifications Framework.
Under Article 6, obtaining complete general education means completing grades X and XI of the secondary level, on the basis of which the document confirming complete general education — the certificate (attestat) — is issued. A special route also exists: a secondary vocational educational programme with integrated secondary-level learning outcomes yields, upon completion, both a diploma and a document confirming complete general education; and after completing grades X-XI or the vocational programme the pupil may additionally take the optional grade XII and receive the certificate.