Storm of Recriminations: 8 Teachers Dismissed from Dedoplistskaro Public School #1

Maia Lapiashvili, the principal of Dedoplistskaro Public School #1 dismissed 8 teachers from school. Consequently the major part of the school teachers has expressed their overall mistrust towards the board of trustees. The school principal accuses Levan Natroshvili, the Dedoplistskaro District Governor and Giorgi Botkoveli, Deputy Kakheti Regional Governor for destroying the education process at the school. The principal said that the deputy governor is actually patronizing the mother of the Dedoplistskaro governor who (the governor’s mother) and that she has wanted to take over as the school’s principal for a long time now.

The school principal said that the teachers were dismissed as a result of not having an adequate budget to pay their expenses. However, the dismissed teachers deny this allegation as being false and misleading. They make the counterclaim their conflict was sparked because of a biased and unfair system for the redistribution of working hours among the teachers. As a consequence of this, the teachers addressed the school board of trustees with their overall concerns. In turn, the majority of board members voted to express their lack of faith and confidence towards Maia Lapiashvili, the school principal and they decided to annul the employment contract with her. The rest of the school teachers concurred and expressed their mistrust towards the school board as well.

It is now thought that the educational activities are being destroyed in Dedoplistskaro Public School #1. The school administration now states that the deputy Kakheti regional governor had demanded the school cease studies temporarily. The dismissed teachers applied o General Inspection Service of the Ministry of Education of Georgia and the Free Trade Union of Educators and Scientists of Georgia for immediate help.

Giorgi Botkoveli, Deputy Kakheti Regional Governor acknowledges that he asked the school principal to postpone the studies at the school.

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti