Teachers Sacked Before Elections Request To Be Reemployed

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi

Minister of Education and Science spread official statement about the teachers unfairly sacked from education institutions. Minister Giorgi Margvelashvili expressed solidarity with teachers and promised the Ministry will study concrete cases and victims will be rehabilitated. 

Teachers of Partskhanakanebi village public school, in Tskaltubo district, responded to the minister’s statement. They initially applied to the Kutaisi office of the Republic Party for help and then held joint press-conference in the Kutaisi Center for Civic Engagement.

“Teachers claim they were sacked from public schools on political grounds. We studied the case and can declare that there are several questions about their dismissal. It is impossible that 6 teachers were dismissed from one school because of disciplinary violation; the situation is a bit weird. There is grounded doubt that problem was in the administration. I will not violate presumption of innocence and will not blame anybody in law violation but something is wrong in this school and some issues shall be clarified,” said Nato Katamadze, chairwoman of the Republic Party’s Kutaisi office.

Teachers applied to Katamadze for help several days ago and provided her with the relevant materials on the violations in the school. Teachers clarified that director had accused them of violation of school regulations; in fact they had requested publicity of budget operations and had expressed free opinion about some issues.

“All six teachers were fired from school because of poor discipline and breached school regulations. Whilst the school administration and the director himself breach discipline and the law. Of course it is violation when school budget is not transparent and despite our attempt we have no access to it. We are bad teachers because we had different, free opinion about certain issues, etc,” said dismissed teachers who connect the fact with political motives.

“Initially they fired me for the violation of school regulations but nobody clarified what I had done wrong. When I decided to protect my rights and appealed to the court, they started to fabricate a political accusation against me, as if I am against National Movement, do not share their views, etc. My rights were breached at the first instance of the court when protocols were faked and guilty verdict was passed on me. I was justified by the Appeal Court but the Supreme Court again found me guilty and imposed 1 700 lari on me. My bank account was sequestered and I have not been able to take the money received as a prize for the competition of teachers yet,” said Lasha Tsibadze, dismissed teacher.

“Initiative of the Education Minister about rehabilitation of unfairly dismissed teachers gave a hope to these people that they will find justice. The minister appealed to teachers: who believes that they were fired on political grounds, shall appeal to education institutions and request restitution to their working places. The Minister also appealed to the directors of education institutions to study those cases and if signs of political persecution are detected in them, re-employ teachers at schools. There were several precedents when teachers returned to their working places. So, these people also hope for reemployment; they have already appealed to the school administration but director blames them in the violation of school regulations and does not justify their dismissal by lack of vacant places or some other real issues,” said Nato Katamadze.

Teachers (who claim they are innocent and allege that school director breaches the law when he violates teachers and pupils’ rights) applied to the Republic Party to mediate them with the Minister in order to study their case and finally estimate the truth.

Humanrights.ge contacted director of Partskhanakanebi public school # 1 Ushangi Pkhakadze regarding this case. He said “since it was the Minister’s initiative to suggest teachers to appeal to school administrations, they appealed to us. But I replied to them that they were not fired on political grounds but for the violation of school regulation and labor code.”

Relevant commission of the Ministry of Education will study what is meant under the violation of school regulations or the labor code and whether teachers were really guilty or not and what is going on in the Partskhanakanebi public school in fact.

Head of Republic Party’s Kutaisi office has already sent petition to Giorgi Margvelashvili and enclosed all documents, including videos demonstrating oppression on teachers by the school director, to the petition.