“It Is Discrimination of Teachers and Nothing More”

“A person and particularly teacher shall not live in permanent fear. It is the only reason why I took part in the exams. It is shameful when a teacher (after such a tense school year) has to take exams instead creating better working conditions for them; they cannot even explain to us why we need the exams because they dismiss teachers from schools despite all our efforts,” a teacher from Kutaisi stated after leaving the examination center on July 22. Most of the local teachers did not attend the exam.

In order to keep the job, every teacher should take the exam before 2014. The information is spread by the ministry of education. However, the state institution cannot guarantee that every teacher will stay in school after passed exams. The resource-centers already received directives from the ministry – to free schools from spare staff and teachers with few working hours.

“It is the situation when you do not know what and how to do. In order not to be subdued by others, who claim that they have better qualification than you, we have to take the exam. However, nobody will pay attention to it and dismiss us from school without any problem. The problem is not the exam itself but the fact that they do not know why we take this exam. If they are going to fire us from school by all means, let them do it and then organize the exams for those who remain in school. There are teachers with few working who took exams but might be dismissed anyway. All in all, we are very confused,” said a teacher from Kutaisi Manana Charkviani.

According to preliminary information, about 20 000 teachers will remain unemployed in September throughout Georgia. The current situation in public schools demonstrates their intention. “Retired teachers and teachers with few working hours will go home. The school needs only teachers with 18 working hours,” the directors of district resource-centers make similar statements as they are ordered by the ministry of education.  

“These people put school directors in awkward situation. The director has to obey the order. Otherwise they will lose the job. The situation is very tense and I am sure the situation will get worse in September. In fact, the process of firing teachers has already started. It is no problem that the ministry has not released the decree yet; they will do it in September and a lot of people will get unemployed. They say a teacher should not work less than 18 hours. Every similar teacher is already crossed out and their lists are already sent to the ministry,” said the chairwoman of the Kutaisi office of the Independent Trade Union of Teachers and Scientists Lia Ratiani.

Teachers think neither school director nor the head of the resource center has right to dismiss that from school; furthermore, the minister cannot fire them either. “The state shall resolve this problem. There is no valid system in Georgia which could evaluate the teacher’s qualification and decide to leave him/her at school or not. Our situation is discrimination and nothing more. Finally, all these activities aim to abolish public schools. Nobody needs schools in this country and they have already started this process.”

Teachers from Kutaisi protest the current situation and are ready to oppose the activities of the ministry of education in September.