Tutorial Councils of Gori Based Schools Will Have Problems

“On July 7 members of Tutorial Council of our school destroyed our happiness and cut off wings of our childish hopes with their activities. We were standing in tears and could not think of anything. Only one pupil, Inga Egadze must not decide the fate of our teacher Ms. Giuli. Please, protect our rights and do not let illegally elected director to run our school who came here through revolution. We want our favorite teacher, Ms. Giuli to return to our school,” it is an extract from the letter that was sent by pupils of public school of the village of Fkhvenisi to Human Rights Center (HRIDC). (The style of the letter was not changed).

Pupils at Fkhvenisi Public School have opposed school administration. Human Rights Center received a letter signed by 50 pupils where children urge to protect their rights. They protest self-governmental elections at school.

“School administration carried out self-governmental elections with many violations. Several pupils protested it but the school administration categorically demanded to introduce Inga Egadze in self-government because she is daughter of school accountant. Director introduced her close people in the Tutorial Council and persuades everybody that she will be reappointed to her position after the second stage of polls,” wrote the children.

As it became clear, the Tutorial Council did not elect Giuli Metereveli as a director of the school though she had successfully passed exams at Ministry of Education. Next polls will take place in September and if council does not elect her, the Minister of Education will have to appoint interim director. As pupils claim former director Nona Sirbiladze hopes that she will be a future interim director.

Giorgi Sosiashvili, Director of Gori Resource-Center within the Ministry of Education, stated that they have accepted the appeal from pupils and they are discussing it.

“Former director, Nona Sirbiladze, members of Tutorial Council and I were invited to the General Inspection. Although we discussed the situation we do not know how everything finishes. As for election of accountant’s daughter in self-government it is not restricted under the law. They have not applied to me regarding the fact,” said Sosiashvili.

Giorgi Khorbaladze, handpicked candidate for directorship of Gori Public School # 3 opposes the Tutorial Council too. Gori Public School #3 is considered one of the most prestigious in the city because the Ministry of Education spent one and half million lari on its equipment according to modern standards.

Giorgi Khorbaladze (candidate for directorship): “The results were not unexpected for me. Besides illegal “preservation of positions,” Tutorial Council carried out pre-electoral and electoral proceedings through various violations and I brought administrative suit to the Ministry of Education regarding the fact. The Tutorial Council is due to introduce arguments to destroy my suit. The Tutorial Council might lose its power before their term expires because they cannot acquit themselves.”

As Human Rights Center has found out, General Inspection investigates this case too.

The General Inspection investigated the situation regarding the Tutorial Council of Gori Public School # 3 as well. Dima Gogiashvili, candidate for directorship appealed against the council.

During establishment of resource-center, Dima Gogiashvili was member of the election commission. During the elections of tutorial councils he represented the Ministry to four villages in Gori District as a supervisor.

These factors encouraged Dima Gogiashvili to take part in elections for directors of the schools in the first zone of Gori. Having passed first and second stages of competition he was sent to Gori Public School # 4 as a result of polls. Like Giorgi Khorbaladze, the candidate for the directorship of Public School # 4 also condemns the Tutorial Council.

Dima Gogiashvili (candidate): “I met pedagogical staff and technical personnel of the school. We established warm relationship with each other but I cannot tell the same about Tutorial Council. I was surprised by cynic and inhuman attitude of council chairman. The cynic treatment was later followed by provocation. On June 28 I met pupils and they spoke with me about problems in school. Luckily in my school development plan children found some topics which turned out too interesting for them. Consequently, children told Ms. Valia Cherkezishvili, member of the Tutorial Council, that they wanted to have a director like me.”

“I destroyed all their rumors about me. They gossiped that my mother had bribed the Minister that I am not orthodox and I am twenty-two-year-old fellow. Anyway, although I destroyed all their rumors and presented perfect plan to them, it was not enough to accept me as a director.”

As for members of Tutorial Council they will be charged for many reasons. They started fight against me and the result can be easily viewed. I received no votes out of total ten.”

On June 28 I found out during my meeting with children that they have no access to computer techniques. Children cannot use computers granted within the Project “Irmis Nakhtomi” (Leap of Deer). The fact was proved by members of Tutorial Council when they met representatives of monitoring group and stated that there were 24 computers in school.

However they can use only 7 of them. The school administrator uses one of them, computer specialist works on the second one and other computers are inaccessible for both teachers and children. It is impossible to teach 545 pupils with only five computers.”

“The school cannot use sport gym or other cultural facilities. The gym is full of various materials, the floor is damaged and Assembly Hall is out of function because no cultural events are arranged in school for children.”

“I entered the school legally and was ready to develop it but they do not care about my enthusiasm. They need a slave director to manage him easily who will put up with all kind of violations. I am not such kind of person and they did not elect me. When I asked members of Tutorial Council what they did not like in my development plan they said they liked it. One of them, Ms. Nino Tsikaradze-Doliashvili told me over the phone that she had not read my plan at all; she liked the plan of my contestant. It is absurd because my contestant told me that he had not written anything at all. He had introduced only some extracts from “National Tutorial Plan.”

Human Rights Center got in touch with the administrations of Gori Public Schools # 3 and # 4 but there were no officials there to answer the questions. They are on holiday. Representatives of the Gori Resource Center stated that everybody should wait for General Inspection’s conclusions.

Saba Tsitsikashvili, Gori