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Professors Threaten to Take to the Streets

April 17, 2006

Professors Threaten to Take to the Streets

A newly appointed University Chancellor has caused the panic at the Tbilisi State University. They believe that those who survived the last Chancellor will fall victim to the new staff cuts resulting from proposed reforms. According to one source, the staff will be cut to 600.

During the last year the University Chancellor changed twice. Roin Metreveli, who had been the Chancellor of the university for years, was replaced by Rusudan Lortkipanidze in October 2005. The reforms she implemented involved firing a lot of professors and lecturers that was protested by them. The joining of departments is also connected with her name. She was University Chancellor for six months. On April 7th 2006, the new University Chancellor, Gia Khubua – a former representative of NGO “Liberty Institute” took charge of the State University. He seeks to divide the faculties joined by the previous Chancellor. The lecturers welcomed this step but they disapprove of some of his plans and think that this unserious attitude towards the University will badly affect the whole nation.

“Such an unserious attitude towards the University is not acceptable; have you ever heard of changing the University Chancellor twice a year and each of them change the staff as they want. Once they had fired the “corrupt staff”, what now can they want? The University needs intelligent and educated people and not the politically frightened. Have you heard of professors starving somewhere else? It only happens here. Those who were not fired by Lortkipanidze are now waiting to be summoned and fired too. This should not be done. We are people - someone should take care of our rights”- say the professors and lecturers of the University”

Gia Khubua does not deny that further cuts may be made, but says that who are really respectful will stay. As for the division of the faculties, it has not finally been decided and it depends upon the professors.

Lectures say that the joining of the departments was done very quickly and that Lortkipanidze was a victim of that mistake: “Finally they realized that uniting 5, 6 and 7 departments was a complete failure. If Lortkipanidze had stepped down, it would have been an admission of that failure. Changing the Chancellor was only way to make corrections. There were 5 000 professors at State University, only 3 000 are left. If this figure should be cut down to 600 staff, it will be disastrous; what can 600 teachers do? What do we show the new generation? We are telling them that education and science are not essential, because one day or other you may find yourself on the street. What should a young scientist do? These are questions without answers.”

The university professors have lot to tell, but they do not dare say anything. They are afraid of repercussions arising from their announcements, so they asked us not to identify them.

After the new Chancellor came, five deans left their positions: Archil Ugulava – from the Study of Nature Faculty, Gocha Japaridze – from the Humanitarian Sciences Faculty, David Kereselidze – from the Faculty of Law, David Aprasidze – Social Political Sciences Faculty and Michael Jibuti – from the faculty of Business and Economics.   
 
Their cases have not been decided yet. As the Chancellor says; handing in a resignation letter does not mean they quit automatically. Professors consider the problem to be the fact that they can’t express what they think openly and freely: “There are lots of problems. If we say something, we’ll be fired. They will name a reason that you can’t dispute or argue with. They will say it is reform and reorganization. There is no more of a human rights violation than that is there?”

The lecturers plan to meet the Chancellor and then meet with the Minister of Education. If nothing happens and there is no action, they threaten to take to the streets. 

Eka Gulua

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