National Preventive Mechanism description is very general and allows ample room for subjective interpretation. For example, the document includes such a passage: “In order to be enrolled in a specialized school, a child must be characterized with retardation of development of all the aforementioned skills (sensory deficit, speech and mental operations, ability to communicate, functional skills) and the level of development of these skills must correspond with the criteria of moderate and severe mental retardation described in DSM IV.” The analysis of the aforementioned provision reveals a lot of shortcomings whose practical exercise may violate a disabled child’s right to live in and integrate with the society to a significant extent. Specifically, the provision does not specify what degree of “retardation of development” it refers to, by what objective criteria it is to be measured, and which of the dozens of diagnoses described in DSM IV it refers to and by what criteria. In addition, it is also significant that DSM IV is the American Classificatory which is not used in Georgian Psychiatry (Only in scientific research). The classificatory system of the World Health Organization – ICD-10 is used instead. The experts of the monitoring group also documented shortcomings of the activity of the multidisciplinary teams in practice. For example, in Public School No. 200, when a member of a multidisciplinary team was asked what objective criteria s/he relied on when enrolled a child in the specialized school (institution), s/he declared that there were no clearly formulated criteria and s/he decided this issue based on his/her own judgment. According to the administration of Public School No. 203, decisions on enrolling of the pupils in this school (for children with hearing loss and impairment) are also made by the multidisciplinary team, but they do not know the criteria the team uses. In addition, according to the administration, the multidisciplinary team does not include a specialist who knows the specifics of children with hearing impairment. According to the administration of the Chiatura School No. 12, they often disagree with the decisions of the multidisciplinary team on enrollment/dismissal of children, though expressing a different opinion about this issue causes conflict situations and they are threatened with closing down the school. The letter of the Ministry of Education and Science also confirms that, during 2012, the National Center for Examinations is in the process of standardizing three international instruments (tests); Accordingly, at the moment of the monitoring (June 2012), members of the multidisciplinary team were not using objective tests of assessment for enrolling/ institutionalizing children in specialized schools. The monitoring group documented several cases in which children’s enrollment in specialized schools was not based on their educational needs. The Case of L.Kh. and N.I. Both pupils have been attending the Kutaisi Public School No. 45 (former Specialized Boarding School for Children with Hearing Loss and Impairment) since 2007. In his/ her explanatory note, the headmaster indicates that these children were enrolled in the school for children with hearing loss and impairment in 2007 because no other corresponding service was available in Kutaisi. According to the assessment of the multidisciplinary team, N.I. has no hearing impairment. On the basis of an audiogram and according to the recommendation of the multidisciplinary team, s/he may not be attending Public School No. 45, though, as his/ her mother refuses categorically to transfer him/her to another school, the issue remains unresolved. According to the assessment of the multidisciplinary team, L.Kh. has no need of attending School No. 45, but, due to his/her mother’s objection to his/her transfer to another school, the pupil is given a recommendation to continue studying in School No. 45. www.ombudsman.ge NPM Report