The Kakha Bendukidze Knowledge Fund will allocate 4.2 million GEL to finance the education of students at the Free University and the Agricultural University. As reported by the Free University, the funds will be allocated to support applicants who enroll in 2026 and will cover their tuition for 4 years.
Financial assistance will be provided to several categories of students. Full funding will be provided to applicants with socially vulnerable status who are enrolled in both universities. All students admitted to the Free University will be eligible for a scholarship to co-finance their education, and winners of international and national Olympiads will be eligible for special scholarships from the Foundation. Winners of educational competitions will be issued vouchers to cover the cost of tuition.
The Foundation emphasizes that the conditions for future students remain unchanged: there are no plans to increase tuition fees, and attracting foreign students to increase revenue is not being considered. Against this background, the decision of the Georgian Dream party government takes on particular significance - from the next academic year, students of private universities will lose the right to state grants, which makes the support of the Bendukidze Foundation a key source of funding for education.