Batumi Municipality Discriminates Students

According to Batumi Municipality’s resolution, dated by July 18 2007, President’s program “Patriot” will be implemented in Adjara till August 31. 300 students will be employed within the program. The Batumi budget will apportion the funds to pay wages for students; monthly payment for patriots will be 250 lari. The students started registration three days ago.

The students informed the Human Rights Center (HRIDC) that only those applicants will involve the programs who are from socially excluded families and families with many children. Students should produce copies of corresponding documents or recommendations.
 
Jumber Kakhidze, the Deputy Chairman of the Batumi Municipality, does not deny in his conversation with the Human Rights Center that only those students will be employed out of total 1 000, who are from socially excluded families and can produce recommendations.

Other students protest the situation. They say that most families in the region could not involve the Poverty Reduction Program and cannot produce corresponding documents. However, it does not mean that they are from wealthy families.

Human Rights Center calls upon corresponding bodies, media sources and non-governmental organizations to react on the situation. Besides that, the lawyers for the center are investigating the documents connected with the program in order to appeal against those resolutions that blatantly violate human rights.

Gela Mtivlishvili