GSSUA starts working at policy level
The Georgian School Students Unions Alliance (GSSUA) invited 300 school student representatives from Student Councils and School Civic Clubs to meet the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia on 12th December 2012. Organizing this meeting was a huge success for GSSUA because they took the first steps towards student participation in the decision-making process in Georgia.
During this meeting with the Deputy Minister, 300 school students had the opportunity to draw attention to the existing problems in school environments to the Deputy Minister. At the meeting GSSUA also had the opportunity to briefly present their recommendations on the actions needed from the government to promote participation of school students in school life. The full version with detailed recommendations was sent directly to the Deputy Minister after the meeting.
GSSUA believes that the meeting was productive, though waited for a concrete follow up of the meeting before raising their hopes. Without a proper follow up it is difficult to ensure that the meeting will also lead to action. Therefore the GUSSA was proud to see actions taken following the meeting.
These included:
GUSSA’s first recommendation is about changing the policy on exclusion in schools with a mentoring system. This means that the possible exclusion of school students can be prevented by offering them daily support from their peers, in coordination with school social workers. GSSUA’s view was welcome, and they will be involved in a working group which will work on this topic.
The second concrete outcome was GSSUA’s recognition as a stakeholder representing school students’ voice in Georgia. The Ministry of Education will work with the GSSUA on defining the need of monitoring and evaluation the work of the School Student Councils and discuss together how student participation and representation can be improved in Georgia.
Written by GSSUA representatives
