Teachers at Nikozi Village Public School Request Dismissal of the Director

Lado Bitchashvili, Shida Kartli

“Enough with the director’s dictatorship”- the teachers of the Nikozi village public school met the director, when he arrived at school on June 22 and did not allow him to enter the building.

The teachers protested the June 20 decision of Tamaz Melanashvili to sack the teacher of the primary school Marine Mindiashvili. The teachers requested the director to restore the dismissed colleague to the working place. They blamed Tamaz Melanashvili in groundless dismissal of teachers and hiring his acquaintances instead. 

“The director was not rebuked for the first, second… illegal dismissals and continues the same. I am one of the illegally sacked teachers. He replaced the professional teachers with people, who do not have diplomas at all, or have purchased them. The medical nurse, who does not know English at all and learns the language together with the pupils, is English language teacher at school. Dismissal of Marine Mindiashvili was the last point and we decided to protest this decision. We urge for the rule of law and request to fire this director, who does not respect the law at all,” Mzia Mosiashvili said.

Marine Mindiashvili was the only certified teacher in Nikozi public school. The director mentioned disciplinary violations in his dismissal order but Marine Mindiashvili does not agree with the accusations and intends to appeal the court.

Marine Mindiashvili, the sacked teacher: “He sacked me based on fake accusation and wrote in the order that I used to bring strange people into the class-rooms during lessons. He meant teachers and parents in strange people, though it is not true. I will appeal the illegal decision of the director at the court.”

The controversy between the school director and the primary school teacher started a year ago, when the director blamed her in beating a pupil but could not prove the accusation.

“The story started last October, when I entered the class-room of Marine Mindiashvili because of noise in it and witnessed that she was beating a pupil with stick. Unfortunately or fortunately, I could not prove this fact. Ms. Marine herself admitted that fact but then they disseminated much false information about the school. The internal audit of the Ministry of Education was working in the school and soon they will deliver the conclusion. If there are any violations and I have committed any crimes, I will be punished,” the school director Tamaz Melanashvili said.