Public School # 125 Will Be Forfeited to School Optimization

Process of school optimization is too painful in Georgia. Teachers are losing their jobs, pupils will have to walk long distance to get to school and parents will have to give their children enough money to travel to school by bus. Teachers claim that officially schools are being closed down because of optimization, however real situation is different.

Currently, Public School # 125, the only school in Nutsubidze Plateau I, is going to be closed down because of optimization. Although teachers, pupils and their parents are holding demonstrations and are petitioning to corresponding governmental bodies, the final decision is made and their school will soon join  Public School # 170. Consequently, most teachers from Public School # 125 will lose their jobs and parents will have to run up an expense to send their children to a distant school.

The director of the Public School # 170 does not deny that there are not vacant places for teachers and if two schools are joined, they will have to reduce several teachers from their school to accept new ones from the Public School # 125.

Parents and pupils from the Public School # 125 say that they will not be able to travel to a distant school; they will have to cross two ravines. “It is the only school where the pupils from this district used to go to. If it is abolished, we will face serious problems. It will be too difficult to take our children too remote school that is two ravines away from our district. In addition to that, we will run up extra expenses because the transporting fee has increased and we will have to pay 2, 40 lari a day to send our children to school. Most parents will not be able to afford such expenses. Besides getting to school, children have to eat something at school. I do not know what will be with us. This school must not be closed down,” said one of the parents.

The school administration also protests the abolishment of the school. They claim that the initiators are interested in privatization of the territory and optimization is only a reason for them.

Medea Mikadze, the chairwoman of the Board Council of the Public School # 125, said in her conversation with the Human Rights Center (HRIDC) that their school was inserted on the list of the buildings that should be privatized. “The way they treat our school is liquidation and not optimization. Optimization for a school means to choose optimal variant for its development. In our situation everything is different. The school is located on a specific territory. It is a micro-district and existence of a school is too important for the surrounding area. At the moment only 147 pupils study at our school. We learned about the optimization only a day before the elections of the school director.”

As Ms. Medea claims, nobody met the administration to hear their opinions. “I did not know anything. Directors, selected by balloting, were to arrive at school but a day before their visit the Resource Center within the Ministry of Education informed us that we should not hold elections. The reason was optimization. However, we attended trainings, balloting also took place and a day before the elections they told us we are going to be closed down.”

Residents of the Nutsubidze Plateau I (surrounding district) protest the closing down of the public school. People said that they would not let anybody to close down the school and are going to prepare special petition to the President. They hope their appeal will be taken into consideration. Otherwise local population claims that investors will not succeed in business on the area.

“If officials from the Ministry of Education think that optimization means abolishment of schools, they definitely need immediate trainings to understand the terminologies. As for the principal problem, they are going to leave local children without school. If they think it is necessary to close down schools, they should shut down those ones which are located too close to another. It is unfair to abolish the only school in the district that might cause serious problems for us. The reason for the situation is dilettantism of officials and unprofessional decision-makers. They should have asked the population the opinion when they were going to close down the only school in the area. I wonder which investor is going to purchase the territory. They will not feel themselves safe here,” said local residents.

Human Rights Center tried to hear the position of the Ministry of Education; however it turned out impossible. The only comment on the situation was made by the Minister Kakha Lomaia, who said that the problem will be resolved and transport will serve pupils.

Eka Gulua