Vocational School Licensing under Georgian Law
Opening a vocational school is often described as a licensing matter, yet Georgian law regulates this field differently. The legislation governing vocational education organizes the founding of a college, the acquisition of its status and the carrying out of educational activity through the institution of authorization. This page explains how that system works on the basis of the three key provisions of the relevant law: the norms on the founding of a college, on authorization, and on obtaining the right to implement an educational program.
If you are planning to establish a vocational school or are already working through this process, it is essential to understand from the outset that the law treats the college as a legal entity of special standing which acquires that standing only as a result of authorization. It is authorization that determines whether the institution may issue education documents recognized by the state and on which educational programs its activity will extend.
Founding a College and Its Legal Form
Under the law, a college is founded and operates in the form of a public-law legal entity or a private-law legal entity. This means that a founder may in principle choose between different organizational and legal forms, although starting vocational educational activity in every case requires authorization.
The circle of founders is also defined by law. An organ of the executive power of Georgia is authorized, for the purpose of carrying out vocational educational activity and in agreement with the ministry, to found a public-law legal entity or a private-law non-profit (non-commercial) legal entity. The executive organs of the autonomous republics of Abkhazia and Adjara hold an analogous power and act in agreement with the ministry. A municipality, in accordance with the Local Self-Government Code, may likewise found a public-law legal entity or a private-law non-profit (non-commercial) legal entity in agreement with the ministry.
The law also regulates the situations in which vocational programs may be implemented without creating a separate legal entity. A general education institution may, without establishing an independent legal entity, implement only the basic vocational educational program, the secondary vocational educational program, the state language preparation program, and a vocational training or vocational retraining program. A higher education institution, without creating an independent legal entity, may implement any type of such programs: vocational educational programs, short-cycle educational programs, state language preparation programs and vocational training or retraining programs. In addition, a higher education institution may found a non-profit (non-commercial) legal entity for the purpose of implementing vocational or short-cycle educational programs.
It is also worth noting the norm under which the chapter of the law dealing with institutions founded with the participation of the state does not extend, taking into account its content, to an educational institution existing in the form of a private-law legal entity — subject to the stated exception. This circumstance may affect the legal regime governing the institution, which is why the choice of form should always be discussed with a lawyer in advance.