Support Letter European Association of Schools of Social Work (EASSW)
Announcements
09 of March 2026
His Excellency Givi Mikanadze
Minister of Education, Science and Youth of Georgia
Subject: Ensuring Sustainable Social Work Education Capacity
within Georgia’s Higher Education Reform
Your Excellency,
On behalf of the European Association of Schools of Social Work (EASSW), representing schools of social work and academic institutions across Europe, we wish to convey our respect for the Government of Georgia’s efforts to modernise and strengthen the national higher education system. The European Association of Schools of Social Work (EASSW) is a European association of institutions of social work education, organizations supporting social work education and social work educators. Its mission is to promote social development and develop high quality education, training and knowledge for social work practice, social services, and social welfare policies in Europe and whereas is asked. We advise schools and educational councils how to improve quality in Social Work Education and how to link SWE and practice.
We recognise the objectives outlined in the National Concept for Higher Education Reform, including improved educational quality, more efficient use of public resources, stronger integration between teaching and research, and alignment between higher education and labour-market needs. These goals are entirely consistent with developments across the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and reflect principles advanced through the Bologna Process, particularly those related to quality assurance, institutional responsibility, and socially responsive higher education governance.
It is precisely in this constructive spirit that we respectfully raise our concern regarding the discontinuation of Social Work educational programmes at Ilia State University, including Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral-level development, and the resulting concentration of social work education within a single institutional provider nationwide. High-quality social work education is essential for preparing competent professionals who can respond to complex social challenges and contribute to the development of effective social welfare systems. Strong academic programs ensure that social workers are trained through rigorous curricula, research-informed teaching, and close collaboration with practice institutions.
EASSW emphasizes the importance of academic pluralism in social work education. The presence of multiple programs and institutions fosters quality, innovation, and the continuous development of the profession. Concentrating education in a single institution — currently Tbilisi State University — may limit educational capacity and reduce opportunities for diverse academic approaches that strengthen the field.
Across Europe, social work is recognised as a strategic public profession directly connected to child protection systems, violence prevention, disability inclusion, community resilience, and the implementation of human-rights-based social policies. Modern European governance frameworks increasingly emphasise that higher education systems contribute not only to economic competitiveness but also to social stability, democratic resilience, and inclusive public service delivery. Social work education therefore occupies a distinctive position at the intersection of higher education policy, social policy implementation, and public sector capacity building.
Within this framework and taking in consideration available national data we would like to indicate a structural mismatch between workforce needs and educational capacity:
Publicly discussed labour market findings identify social work as a shortage profession in Georgia, with an estimated annual demand of approximately 192 social workers. In contrast, average yearly graduation output has been reported at around 35–44 professionals.
Under the current reform framework, social work education is concentrated in one university with an announced annual capacity of 50 Bachelor-level places and 10 Master-level places.
Government workforce planning documents indicate a national need for approximately 350–400 additional social workers across social protection, justice, education, and victim support sectors.
Existing caseload data demonstrate significant systemic pressure, with reported workloads reaching around 120 cases per social worker, far exceeding the administrative benchmark of approximately 1:50, indicating structural understaffing and risks for service quality.
Within European higher education reform practice, labour-market alignment is understood not only as the optimisation of resources but also as the safeguarding of the long-term sustainability of professions essential to public welfare systems. When verified workforce shortages exist, policy solutions commonly prioritise expanding educational pathways, improving regional accessibility, and diversifying academic provision.
European experience consistently demonstrates that professional fields linked to public welfare require continuity across all academic cycles. Undergraduate programmes ensure access to the profession; Master’s programmes develop advanced competencies, specialisation, and leadership; Doctoral programmes sustain research ecosystems, evidence-based innovation, and policy evaluation capacity. The removal of one institutional pillar, therefore, affects the integrity of the entire professional ecosystem rather than a single academic programme.
We fully acknowledge the reform principle of resource optimisation. At the same time, contemporary European higher education governance increasingly employs differentiated approaches, recognising that certain professions — particularly those
connected to human rights protection, child welfare, and community services — constitute elements of national social infrastructure. In such contexts, maintaining multiple academic centres strengthens quality assurance through academic dialogue, peer development, and institutional resilience.
Over the past two decades, social work education in Georgia has evolved into a recognised academic and scientific discipline supported by international cooperation, research infrastructure, and doctoral scholarship. The programmes developed at Ilia State University have contributed substantially to professionalisation processes, research development, and Georgia’s academic integration into the broader European social work community.
We respectfully suggest that preserving pluralistic Social Work education capacity at the Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral levels would reinforce — rather than contradict — the strategic objectives of the national reform by ensuring coherence among higher education modernisation, labour market realities, and the strengthening of public social systems.
EASSW therefore encourages continued dialogue among policymakers, universities, and the professional community to ensure that social work education in Georgia remains high-quality, sustainable, and pluralistic, in order to meet the growing needs of society and the social services workforce.
As our intention is not to challenge reform efforts, but to contribute international academic expertise in support of Georgia’s continued development as a modern European higher education partner committed simultaneously to academic excellence, social responsibility, and sustainable public governance, we would welcome the opportunity for an official dialogue with representatives of the Ministry to exchange European policy experiences concerning governance of professional education systems
Prof. Christos Panagiotopoulos
President
European Association of Schools of Social Work (EASSW)
2026