COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT DIRECTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEMS IN UKRAINE AND GEORGIA

The article provides a comparative analysis of the historical development of higher education systems in Ukraine and Georgia. It is stated that the history of the formation and development of higher education in Ukraine and Georgia have much in common. Thus, the end of the 19th - the first decade of the 20th century (origin and active development of higher women’s education), the Soviet period, the path taken by Georgia in the period of 1917-1921 have much in common with the destiny of Ukraine. 1921-1941 is a period of significant achievements of the Georgian and Ukrainian science, both in the humanities and in the natural sciences, while the 1990s, when the collapse of the Soviet system and the disintegration of the former Soviet Union destroyed all links between universities and labor markets, led to the stagnation of educational systems, including higher education in both Georgia and Ukraine. The paper argues that modern Georgia is gradually moving from a centralized governance structure to a decentralized, liberal (Western) model of education thanks to the broad support of the country’s intelligentsia, which recognizes the need for radical reforms in higher education aiming to provide professionals for all the fields of human activities. The article defines the reform activity as a determining factor in the success of modernization, i.e. the transition from thoughtless copying of Western educational models to the identification of internal reserves and patterns of transformation of educational space and their balanced adaptation to the challenges of globalized society. To successfully complete the reforms, the authors propose a number of areas for change