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Agricultural college to open in Dmanisi Municipality
Georgian-Swiss Agrarian Vocational School ‘’Caucasus" will start functioning in the village Sarkineti, Dmanisi Municipality.
The Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Levan Davitashvili visited vocational school and inspected ongoing activities. The aforementioned college is in compliance with Swiss college standards and aims to deliver knowledge and training courses for students in the field of livestock, milk and cheese processing. The students gain practical skills and experience along with the theoretical knowledge. The livestock farm and cheese factory, that meet Swiss standards will be built in the college area.
 “ Georgian Government prioritizes the development of professional technical schools. We definitely lack modern technological advancements in the livestock-breeding and dairy production. Moreover, training of professional staff to improve their professional skills and increase their qualification is essential for the development of the agricultural sector.
It’s worth noting, that the partner of a new vocational school is the oldest agricultural school ‘’Plantahof’’ in Switzerland, which has gained over 200 years of experience. The college will play an important role not only in Dmanisi Municipality and Kvemo Kartli region, but in the whole country and South Caucasus region" said Levan Davitashvili.
In the nineteenth century, 33 Swiss cheese enterprises and a Swiss school were operated in Kvemo Kartli region. The founder of the new college, Mikhail Svimonishvili noted, that considering this history, as well as aiming to establish the highest standards in the vocational education, the main partner of the project will be the most successful agricultural school "Plantahof" in Switzerland. Plantahof will provide planning and development of curriculum, selection of materials as well as training of teachers.
The project of a vocational college will be implemented with the private financial initiative and financial support of the Swiss South Caucasus Foundation (SSFC). The Foundation has been engaged in the fields of science and education for over 20 years. The project is supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Georgia and Swiss Development Fund. The College actively cooperates with the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia and Georgian Farmers Association.