Teacher VS Mandatur and School Director

Nona Mchedlishvili, Radio Liberty

Non-governmental organization Article 42 of the Constitution sued the administration of the Tbilisi Public School # 8 at the Tbilisi City Court. The organization appealed against firing a teacher from school based on the mandatur’s complaint.

According to Lali Kiknadze, teacher fired from the Tbilisi Public School # 8, a teacher forgot to take a registry to the lesson on March 2. Mandatur Giorgi Inasaridze did not miss to observe this fact.

“He called other mandaturs and created the situation as we, teachers, had committed some crime. He told us to stand at the wall. One of the teachers intended to pick up the registry and give it to her colleague but the mandatur banned her to do it and it ended up with the quarrel. Everybody got astonished with the impudent activities of the mandatur. One teacher even told him the only thing he had left to do was to point guns at us. Finally I told him we should not have started similar noise about this incident; we could take the registry to the teacher; or maybe it was more important for the reform to punish teachers. He asked my name and immediately went to the office and wrote that I had expressed my mistrust to the mandatur’s reform.”

Ms. Lali said she had nothing against the reform at all and cannot still understand why she was dismissed from school. Director Eliso Nikolashvili fired Lali Kiknadze based on the manatur’s report; the teacher had refused to leave job according to her wish. Lali Kiknadze clarified that the director requested her to write resignation letter and promised her to re-employ her at school after the rotation of the mandaturs.

“The school administration does not make comments on the fact. The school cannot answer your questions,” we were told at the Public School # 8.

“Our office does not make comments on the incident at the Public School # 8,” said the representatives of the mandatur’s office at school.

“We do not make comments on the fact. The ministry will not make any comments with regard of this fact,” said the officials at the Ministry of Education.

“I really expect the Ministry to respond to my suit because I am really curious about their position and hoped they would support me. The head of the mandatur’s office protects his mandatur and I also want my minister to protect his teachers. I do want it as I have not done anything wrong,” said Lali Kiknadze. The school director fired her because of the breached two articles in the Professional Ethic Code of Teachers, three articles in the Law on General Education and article 1 of the labor contract.

Representatives of the Article 42 of the Constitution clarified that the articles mentioned in the order of dismiss cannot become grounds for ceasing the labor contract and firing person from job. Furthermore, the mandatur has exceeded his power. Should a mandatur have a similar reaction if a teacher forgets a registry in the teachers’ office? And does a teacher have right to express her opinion? Tamar Gabisonia, board chair of the Article 42 of the Constitution, answered our questions.

“The mandtur assumed that teacher Lali Kiknadze mistrusted the mandatur’s reform by suggesting him to take the registry to the teacher if it contradicted the reform; the mandatur drew up a protocol. First of all, there is no mandatur reform implemented in our country; in fact it is education reform and the mandtur’s service is created in the framework of this reform. If the teacher had expressed her mistrust to the reform, it could not have become ground to dismiss her from job because everyone can have personal opinion in the democratic society, trust or mistrust any of the implemented reforms.”

Tamar Gabisonia said before their organization appealed to the Tbilisi City Court in the name of Lali Kiknadze, they petitioned to every corresponding institution and requested to recruit the woman back to school. The support letter to Lali Kiknadze is signed by 42 teachers. None of the governmental institutions replied to their petition. The organization will request the Court to restore the teacher at school, and to reimburse missed days and moral damage for her.

Original: http://www.radiotavisupleba.ge/content/article/2348289.html