Egypt's Hosni Mubarak in hospital after 'heart attack'

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is in intensive care after suffering a heart attack, say state media.

He was taken ill while meeting prosecutors investigating the killing of hundreds of protesters and allegations of corruption, reports say.

The manager of the hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh said Mr Mubarak's condition was "almost stable".

Mr Mubarak, 82, stood down on 11 February following an 18-day popular uprising against his rule.

State TV quotes medical sources as saying that Mr Mubarak, had refused to eat or drink since being summoned by the public prosecutor on Sunday.

Mr Mubarak's two sons, Alaa and Gamal, are also under investigation and are being questioned at the prosecutor's office in al-Tor in South Sinai governorate, where the former president is said to have been when he suffered the reported medical emergency.Scuffles

"There is a state of confusion inside the hospital and only patients are allowed in," Ashraf Swaylam, a news reporter for the state-run station Nile TV, said earlier.

The hospital was accepting no patients except for emergency cases, another local media report said.

Protesters picketed the hospital, denouncing the president and carrying a sign reading "Here is the butcher", AP news agency reported. They scuffled with supporters of Mr Mubarak.

Mr Mubarak underwent gall bladder surgery in the German city of Heidelberg last year and there were reports that he had remained in poor health, although his aides had denied this.

A BBC correspondent says it is understood that the former president's doctors had asked Egypt's ruling military council for permission to send him back to Germany for treatment, but that this was refused.

Mr Mubarak has been banned from leaving the country, along with his sons and their wives, and the family's assets have been frozen.

In a pre-recorded audio message on Sunday, he broke his silence of the last two months to say his reputation and that of his sons had been damaged and he would work to clear their names.Square cleared

Correspondents say he has been keeping a low profile in Sharm el-Sheikh, a Red Sea resort, after fleeing to his holiday villa there when he was overthrown.

In a separate development, soldiers and police are said to have ended a five-day occupation of Cairo's Tahrir Square by hundreds of protesters.

They had been demanding civilian rule and swifter prosecution of disgraced former officials, principally Mr Mubarak.

There were clashes on the first night of the occupation and tensions had remained high.

source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13053376

International teacher trade unionists gather to debate ‘building the future through quality education for all

EI President, Susan Hopgood, and General Secretary, Fred van Leeuwen, are joined by the heads of South Africa’s largest education unions: SADTU, SAOU and NAPTOSA, and 42 of the most influential teacher union leaders from around the world. They will work together to use their expertise to review global developments in education policy; deliberate best practices to recruit, prepare and support teachers in ways that enhance the profession, and debate how to elevate student performance by access to quality public education for all.

The meeting will also identify the role of teacher unions in reforms and take strategic decisions on EI activity in coming months as it builds up to the sixth EI World Congress which takes place at Cape Town’s International Convention Centre from 22-26 July. The Congress will set out EI’s activity over the next 4 years and elect the global union’s new leaders.

EI President, Susan Hopgood, said: “The Executive Board and Congress are global forums in which teachers and education union leaders meet on the basis of shared interest and partnership to discuss how the confidence, learning and status of teachers can be enhanced. The future of all children and young people depends on qualified and motivated teachers. Our time in Cape Town is an opportunity to set a clear framework for how we achieve this.”

SADTU General Secretary, Mugwene Maluleke, said: “The global economic crisis emerged in financial markets in the developed world but continues to spread and impact in a myriad of ways on both developing and developed nations. EI’s work has shown that the impact of the global economic crisis has not been consistent across countries and within regions. Consequently, the effects on education sectors from early childhood through to higher education have been varied and heavily dependent on policies adopted by governments. The solutions to social, economic and environmental crises have to be global and must engage teachers who are often on the front line of enabling recovery.”

NAPTOSA General Secretary, Henry Hendricks, said: “We are proud to welcome teachers from around the world to our country and the Mother City, Cape Town. While enjoying the obvious charms of the city and its hinterland, delegates will address the many challenges facing education in South Africa as well as in other developing and developed countries. We are convinced that this Congress will be a water-shed that will set the platform to transform education in countries across the globe. We look forward with eager anticipation to working with our colleagues from all over the world in finding the solutions.”

SAOU General Secretary, Chris Klopper, said: “Hosting EI’s Executive Board and World Congress is a real opportunity to exhibit true South African hospitality and prove our prowess at arranging international events. South African unions have taken hands to ensure that the event lives up to everyone’s expectations. It is also an opportunity to prove that diversity is celebrated in South Africa and that all communities are represented by the three national teacher unions. EI fulfils a pivotal role in ensuring that the organised teaching profession is strategically positioned to confront the universal challenges that face education in all countries. The solidarity from EI ensures that unions can take the lead and give guidance in their respective countries to successfully prevail over such challenges. ”

SOURCE:http://www.ei-ie.org/news/news_details/1705

Egypt votes in referendum

CAIRO : Partial results from a third of Egypt's provinces on Sunday showed massive turnout and a vote overwhelmingly in favour of constitutional changes that eliminate restrictions on political rights and civil liberties.

The count from most of the country, including Cairo, was still to be released.

But results from 10 of 29 provinces showed 65 to 86 per cent of voters saying “yes” to the changes, which would allow national elections no later than September. Opponents feared the referendum's passage would allow the highly organised Muslim Brotherhood to dominate Egypt's dozens of new political parties in the presidential and parliamentary vote.

Millions of Egyptians voted freely on Saturday for the first time in more than half a century, joyfully waiting for hours to cast their ballots on the package of constitutional changes.

Among other changes, the constitutional amendments would open elections to independent candidates, allowing parliamentary and presidential elections to replace the caretaker military government by early 2012.

source:http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/21/stories/2011032163411600.htm

Kalam inspires rural children

Former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Saturday interacted with rural students in Masuri town of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, inspiring them through a motivational lecture.

Kalam was the chief guest at Rahat Educational Society in Masuri in an event on developing rural talents. He urged the children to set clear aim for their future and commit themselves to it.

S.M. Khan, director general of Press Information Bureau, presided over the function.

Rahat Educational Society, headed by lawyer Kunwar Ayub Ali, organised the interactive programme to inspire its students on talent development.

source:http://www.indiaedunews.net/Uttar_Pradesh/Kalam_inspires_rural_children_13686/

AMU holds programme on aspects of female education

The Centre of Adult and ContinuingEducation, Aligarh Muslim University with the collaboration of renowned Hindi literary magazine "Vartaman Sahitya", organized a programme on "Various Aspects of Female Education" at the university. 

On this occasion, the book "Muslim Female Education: From Veils to Moon" by AMU Public Relations Officer, Dr. Rahat Abrar was released. 

Commenting on the book, eminent Hindi critic and former Head of the Department of Hindi, Prof. Pradeep Saxena said that the book written on a serious subject in easy language does not only seek to make an entry in the elite class but it also satisfies the quest for knowledge on the issue among common people. 

Prof. Saxena said that the colonial mentality and ideology is the biggest hindrance in socialdevelopment, which does not allow history to be analyzed rationally. 

The movement initiated by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan sought to free education from the colonial dogmas along with the promotion of modern education, he observed. 

Prof. Saxena said that Dr. Rahat Abrar has written a very informative book on the Muslim female education citing the history of Aligarh Movement that witnessed the contributions of numerous Muslim women of high order. 

While presiding over the programme, former Principal of AMU Women's College and former Director of Women's Study Centre, Prof. Zakia A. Siddiqui said that the killing of female child before or after death is still prevalent in our society. 

The dowry devil is rampant causing destruction of a number of families and female education in India is still a toddler. There is an urgent need of another Sheikh Abdullah who could revive female education movement in order to bring complete awakening in the society, she observed. 

The editor, Vartaman Sahitya, Dr. Namita Singh said that women need to be self dependent economically in order to be empowered and get rid of the chauvinistic clutches of male dominant social order. 

The Director, Adult and Continuing Education, Dr. Mah Seema Masood highlighted the features of informal mode of education and urged the people to adopt a positive outlook to be optimistic in their efforts. 

The Chief Guest and MLC, Mr. Vivek Bansal observed that discrimination against women is an international phenomenon, yet India presents the brightest side of thepicture that the President of Indian republic and Lok Sabha speaker are women and it has had a woman prime minister too. Mr. Bansal said that women have to be educated for all round development of the country. 

Eminent social worker and educationist, Mr. Harnarayan Singh said that a national survey should be made to find out how women's social status is largely determined by their economic condition. 

Conducting the programme, Mr. Ajay Bisaria said that different social organizationscould lead a national movement for female education. He also recited the famouscouplet of great poet Majaz. On this occasion, Salma Kanwal recited a poem dedicated to women.

source:http://www.indiaedunews.net/Uttar_Pradesh/AMU_holds_programme_on_aspects_of_female_education_13692/

Georgia: Unions demand consultation on teacher qualification

Georgia’s EI affiliate, the Educators and Scientists Free Trade Union (ESFTUG), has responded to proposals for a new teachers’ certification process by calling on the Georgian Ministry of Education to engage with consultation.

After the ESFTUG’s tireless advocacy for national authorities to promote access to quality education in Georgian public schools, the government had decided to train teachers for the general certification and a teachers’ voucher system had been introduced in 2010.

The national authorities have selected the teacher training institutes entitled to deliver examination programs for government-accredited teachers. Unfortunately this system failed. The majority of teachers were disappointed and felt insulted as their professionalism was threatened by the results of the teachers’ general examination.

Following amendments to the certification law, which was issued on 4 December 2009, the latest round of registration of teachers for certification has begun. National authorities have taken responsibility for training 4,000 teachers in mathematics, physics and general skills, as well as the examination certification in professional development. However, Georgian teachers will not be provided with voucher funds from the government.

In a recent press conference, the ESFTUG’s President, Maia Kobakhidze, has called on the Minister of Education and Science to cooperate, underlining the point that cooperation between social partners would help to promote on-going education reform and enhance access to quality education.

Kobakhidze insisted that public schools should be informed before the registration deadline about the criteria for teachers; fees should be cancelled; the right for all teachers to take exams is respected, and more than 4,000 teachers get governmental benefits. She also said that only social dialogue and negotiations would be able to ensure teachers’ interests were adequately taken into consideration and their dignity defended.

EI supports ESFTUG’s request for better quality teachers’ training and urges the Georgian government to respect national and international norms concerning negotiation and collective bargaining.

source:http://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/show.php?id=1527&theme=rights&country=georgia

Government will universalize secondary education - Patil

New Delhi: President Pratibha Patil on Monday said that after Right to Education for primary education, the government is committed to universalizingsecondary education.

"My government is committed to universalizingsecondary education through the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan. Girls' hostels are being set up in each of the 3,500 educationally backward blocks in the country to bring secondary education within the reach of girls," the president said addressing a joint sitting of both houses of parliament on the first day of the budget session.

"The Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act is another step in my government's approach to right-based governance. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has been aligned to the implementation of this act. It has been scaled up to universalizeelementary education with a universal mid-day meal programme to improve both enrolment and retention," she said in her hour-long speech.

Focusing on adult literacy, the president said that government's flagship Saakshar Bharat programme will be spread to more districts.

"The Saakshar Bharat programme is designed to improve adult literacy, especially among the disadvantaged sections of society. By 2012, it will extend to all 365 districts that have poor adult female literacy levels," she said.

Patil added that the government is taking steps to effect changes in the Apprenticeship Act "to introduce a large number of modular training courses, and to make skills training bankable".

The Apprenticeship Act requires firms to reserve 50 percent of new jobs forapprentices trained by them.

"Our country has a huge advantage in terms of being a young nation. Our young people have to be invested with skills if we are to reap the demographic dividend," she added.

source:http://indiaedunews.net/Today/Government_will_universalize_secondary_education_-_Patil_13558/

Role for Teachers Is Seen in Solving Schools’ Crises

DENVER — Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, convening a two-day labor-management conference here on Tuesday, argued that teachers’ unions can help solve many of the challenges facing public schools.

But as the conference opened, that view was under challenge in a number of state capitals.

Republicans in several states have proposed legislation in recent weeks that would bar teachers’ unions from all policy discussions, except when the time comes to negotiate compensation. In Tennessee and Wisconsin, Republicans have proposed stripping teachers’ unions of collective bargaining rights altogether.

Education historians said the unions were facing the harshest political climate since states began extending legal bargaining rights to schoolteachers decades ago.

The conference, convened by the Department of Education, drew school authorities and teachers’ union leaders from 150 districts across the nation to Denver to discuss ways of working together. To participate, each district’s superintendent, school board president and teachers’ union leader had to sign a pledge to collaborate in good faith to raise student achievement.

Some districts that had hoped to participate could not because relations grew too hostile before the conference.

They included New York, where the schools chancellor, Cathleen P. Black, and the United Federation of Teachers president, Michael Mulgrew, had each signed the pledge. But recent criticism by Ms. Black of the city’s system of seniority-based teacher layoffs angered Mr. Mulgrew, he said, and late last week he pulled out of the conference.

“I wasn’t going to walk into Denver with the chancellor and say, ‘We’re the hypocrites, here for the conference,’ ” Mr. Mulgrew said.

Natalie Ravitz, a spokeswoman for Ms. Black, said the chancellor was disappointed. “We think there are critical issues we need to work together on,” Ms. Ravitz said.

Chicago, Miami-Dade, Philadelphia and eight others among the nation’s 25 largest school systems were at the conference, alongside representatives of 140 smaller districts from 40 states.

In his opening remarks at the conference, called Advancing Student Achievement Through Labor-Management Collaboration, Mr. Duncan commended several districts and their unions.

Among them were Douglas County near Denver, where, he said, the union helped the district pioneer a new teacher evaluation system. In New Haven, a union contract established an innovative mentoring program. And in Los Angeles, the union contract at the Green Dot charter school network details teachers’ instructional responsibilities rather than their working hours.

The conference comes at a time when thousands of districts are facing their most severe budget cuts in a generation, and union contracts calling for layoffs based on seniority could force many districts to dismiss their most energetic young teachers.

But changing these policies could also prompt some districts to remove more experienced, higher paid teachers to balance their budgets.

Mr. Duncan urged participants to search for solutions to the dilemmas posed by mass teacher layoffs.

“We have to learn to problem-solve together,” he said, underscoring his view that school systems can face challenges most effectively by working with the unions.

But in some states an alternate view appeared to be gaining force.

The Idaho schools superintendent, Tom Luna, a Republican, has proposed legislation that would limit collective bargaining to teacher compensation, and exclude unions from deliberations over the design of education policies. Republican lawmakers in Indiana have proposed similar legislation.

Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin has gone further, proposing to end collective bargaining rights for nearly all the state’s 175,000 public sector workers, more than half of whom are teachers. That proposal could pass since Republicans command large majorities in the Legislature.

In Tennessee, State Representative Debra Young Maggart, the chairwoman of the Republican caucus, also introduced legislation that would bar teachers’ unions from collective bargaining.

“Teachers’ unions have been blocking education reform, and my bill will deal with the problem,” Ms. Maggart said.

But Sharon Vandagriff, president of the teachers’ union in Hamilton County, Tenn., who came to Denver for the conference, said her union had worked for years with school authorities to overhaul struggling schools in Chattanooga. Across Tennessee, unions made concessions that paved the way last year for the state to win $500 million in federal Race to the Top money, she said, adding that Ms. Maggart’s bill has demoralized many teachers.

“It feels like an attack,” she said.

Some Democrats, too, are adopting a tougher stance toward teachers’ unions.

“We think they have a right to exist and a role to play in education reform,” said Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform, an advocacy group that pushes for charter schools. “But we wish management would be more aggressive. When management tries to appease, we end up with contracts that aren’t good for public education.”

Charles Taylor Kerchner, a professor of education at Claremont Graduate University who studies labor union history, said, “This is the harshest time for teachers’ unions that I’ve seen since the advent of legislatively sanctioned collective bargaining half a century ago.”

source:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/education/16education.html?_r=1&ref=education

Obama’s Budget Proposes a Significant Increase for Schools

President Obama proposed a 2012 Department of Education budget on Monday that would, if approved, significantly increase federal spending for public schools, and maintain the maximum Pell grant — the cornerstone financial-aid program — at $5,550 per college student.

Whether it will be possible to keep that Pell maximum remains uncertain, however, given that House Republicans have proposed cutting the maximum by about $845, or 15 percent, in their proposal to extend the current budget.

The administration’s education proposal asks for $77.4 billion. That includes $48.8 billion for the portion of the education budget that does not include Pell grants, or an increase of about 4 percent above the 2010 budget. Congress has not yet enacted the 2011 budget.

Among education programs that the administration was protecting was Race to the Top, the competitive grant program that the administration has made its centerpiece initiative. Last year the administration used the Race to the Top to channel $4 billion in economic stimulus money to New York and other states that had proposed bold school improvement plans.

The 2012 budget proposal includes $900 million for Race to the Top, which the administration says would be awarded this time not to states but to school districts. That would make it possible, for instance, to channel money to Houston or other districts in Texas that wanted to compete in the Race to the Top initiative but could not because their state declined to participate.

Some House Republicans are skeptical of the program, however, and — like other line items in the education budget — it could face trims or elimination as Congress works on its own budget and the administration’s.

The Republicans also propose to cut $1.1 billion from the Head Start program, which, according to estimates by theNational Head Start Association, would eliminate services for more than 200,000 children and the jobs of more than 50,000 Head Start employees.

Reacting to the administration’s budget, Representative John Kline, the Minnesota Republican who is chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, indicated a reluctance to invest more in education.

“Over the last 45 years we have increased our investment in education, but the return on that investment has failed to improve student achievement,” Mr. Kline said. “Throwing more money at our nation’s broken education system ignores reality and does a disservice to students and taxpayers.”

The administration’s education proposal also includes $600 million for School Turnaround Grants, another favorite of the president and of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. This would be a $54 million increase above 2010 levels. The turnaround effort, which the administration hopes will finance makeovers of thousands of the country’s worst schools, was also financed with billions in economic stimulus money.

The vast program known as Title I, which channels money to school districts to help them educate disadvantaged children, would receive $14.8 billion, an increase of $300 million over 2010.

Last year, the president said that, to remain competitive, the nation must increase the number of college graduates. But forced to make deep cuts in many areas of government, the president now proposes to eliminate some provisions of the Pell program, which has doubled in size over five years, and serves nine million low-income students. The administration’s budget would end Pell grants for summer students and end interest subsidies on graduate students’ loans.

“We’re making some tough choices to protect the Pell grant,” Justin Hamilton, a department spokesman, said Monday in an e-mail statement. “We’re cutting where we can so that we can invest where we must.”

Congress passed the legislation providing an extra $36 billion over 10 years for the Pell program, and increasing the maximum grant to $5,550 only last year. But with the new Congress’s emphasis on cost-cutting, Pell grants became a prime focal point for cost-cutting. Beyond the 15 percent cut in this fall’s Pell grants, the House Republicans’ proposal would, over 10 years, cut $56 billion from the program.

Mr. Kline said the Democrats had expanded Pells beyond what taxpayers can afford and put the program on the path to bankruptcy.

But education groups warned that cutting the Pell program would put college out of reach for many low-income students.

“With millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet, cutting Pell grants would pull the rug right out from under students and families who are counting on these crucial grants to help pay for college this fall,” said Lauren Asher of the Project on Student Debt.

source:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/us/15education.html?_r=1&ref=education

Nepal president to attend Chandigarh institute convocation

Chandigarh: Nepal President Ram Baran Yadav will be the chief guest at the 31st annual convocation of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here on Friday.

It would be a rare opportunity for Yadav, 62, to attend the convocation at his alma mater as the chief guest. He had done his post-graduation in internal medicine from the PGIMER in 1985.

Yadav did his MBBS from the Calcutta Medical College. He was sworn-in the first president of Nepal in July 2008. His elder son Chandra Mohan Yadav and daughter-in-law also have completed their post-graduation in radio diagnosis from PGIMER.

Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad will preside over the convocation function. Chandigarh Police have made elaborate security arrangements to ensure smooth conduct of this event.

However, patients will have a tough time as the PGIMER's operation theatre technical staff association went on strike for three days from Thursday.

Everyday around 300 surgeries are conducted at the PGIMER and this strike would severely affect the operations.

"The issue of increasing the salaries of operation theatre technicians is pending for the last many months. Therefore, we have decided to go on three-day mass casual leave. However, 10 technicians would be available for the emergency services," said Manoj Kumar, secretary of Operation Theatre Technical Staff Association. 

PGIMER officials have termed the strike as illegal.

"We have already forwarded this matter to the union health ministry so there is no point in going on strike. We would make alternate arrangements to avoid harassment to the public," a PGIMER official said. IANS

source:http://indiaedunews.net/Today/Nepal_president_to_attend_Chandigarh_institute_convocation_13458/

Georgia puts up Russian language barriers in schools

English is being pushed onto syllabuses in a bid to break with a powerful neighbour to the north
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Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili launches the country's English language teaching programme at the start of the new school year. Photograph: David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters

With Alexander Pushkin's framed visage on the wall and creased editions of fellow Russian literary giants on dusty shelves, Natela Chokhonelidze's office recalls a very different era at Georgia's state university.

"We once had a staff of 50, and now there are five, because there aren't many students," said the 70-year-old professor emeritus at the university's institute of Russian studies. "Russian language is fading out," she quipped, "with me!"

Chokhonelidze is on the losing side of a deliberate shift in the former Soviet republic as its pro-western leadership tries to supplant Russian with English as the default second language of 21st-century Georgia.

Last month hundreds of native English speakers joined the first day of school as teaching assistants under an ambitious programme to have every child aged five to 16 speak English. English is now compulsory and Russian optional.

The aim appears pragmatic in a globalised world where English dominates and Georgia's investment-driven economy is seeking partners in Turkey and the European Union.

It fits neatly too, however, with President Mikheil Saakashvili's policy of dragging the Caucasus country of 4.5 million people out from Russia's orbit, two years after war shattered already fragile ties between the neighbours.

"We're a free and independent country and our people are free and independent. It's their choice which language to learn," said education minister Dmitry Shashkin, an ethnic Russian, in English.

The government plans to recruit 1,000 native-English speakers by the end of the year on $272 per month, eventually building up to one per school.

English "opens many doors", said Shashkin. "Georgia doesn't have oil, Georgia doesn't have natural gas. The resource we have is our people, the intellectual potential of our country."

On the streets of Georgia's capital Tbilisi, where blue European Union flags flutter outside the parliament building, all Georgians over the age of 40 speak Russian fluently. Shopkeepers are happy to converse in Russian. The younger, educated generation, however, prefer English, and can even bridle if you attempt to talk to them in the language of Georgia's powerful northern neighbour and adversary.

Much of this is generational. Students entering university now were born after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The influence of western pop culture and the internet is strong.

So too is the fallout from the deterioration in political relations with Russia since Georgia's 2003 Rose Revolution swept aside the ex-Soviet old guard and brought Saakashvili and his team of English-speaking ministers to power.

He set Georgian sights on joining Nato, to the anger of Russia. Political ties collapsed with the 2008 war, when Russia crushed an assault by Georgia's US-trained military on the rebel pro-Russian region of South Ossetia.

Trade links are minimal. Visa requirements and torturous travel routes have strained ties between family and friends.

"Taken in the wider context ... it seems there is a political element behind this," said Shorena Shaverdashvili, editor of Georgian weekly Liberali.

English should be taught, she said, but "Why replace one [language] with the other? This is our neighbourhood and the common language with our neighbours is Russian."

Georgia is now leading the retreat of Russian language in the post-Soviet Union. But Russian remains the lingua franca across much of the former Soviet empire. It is still understood and spoken from Moldova in the west to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan in what was once Soviet central Asia. In the cafes and bars of Dushanbe, Tajikistan's pleasant capital, middle-class Tajiks are more likely to talk to each other in Russian than in Tajik.

In communist times, Russian was taught in Soviet schools as the "language of communication between nationalities". For any ambitious student, especially in more far-flung parts of the Soviet Union, Russian was an essential springboard to a good university education and professional career.

Critics question the wisdom of relegating Russian to a third tier, pointing out that the quality of English teaching in Georgia and other independent post-Soviet countries is often very poor.

At the university, Chokhonelidze laments the passing of an era, and the generations brought up on reading Pushkin, Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. "I fear in a few years when those grandfathers and grandmothers aren't around, nobody will bother."

The answer, said 20-year-old mathematics student Nugzar Barbakadze, is simple: "I can read Russian books in Georgian."

source : http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/oct/12/georgia-teaches-english-over-russian