Who Will Warm Children?!

“Central heating was installed in our school but it does not function properly yet. We, pupils have our fingers frozen and cannot hold pens properly. Don’t we have right to study in normal conditions? They say we should collect money to turn on the central heating,”-said Mariam Iremadze, a student of the 7th grade when she appealed to the Human Rights Center’s Kutaisi office.

She is studying at Kutaisi Public School #37 where approximately 800 students are enrolled. Despite the fact that the central heating has already been installed in all public schools during summer holidays nobody cares how to resolve the problem of launching heating system. Meanwhile the winter has already stepped at their doors.

“I cannot say that they do not care at all but I think they are more anxious about their own benefits from the project than about warming children. The state apportions 240 lari for every child through voucher. Thus the money should be sufficient for heating and for resolving set of other problems as well. The representatives of Ministry of Education and Science tell sheer lie when they state-“Your children will not freeze at school.” But the fact is obvious–children are freezing,” complained parents.

Notwithstanding the reforms implemented by the Ministry of Education and Science almost in every public school of Kutaisi pupils miss the time when the facility was warmed with firewood stoves and the children did not shiver at their desks because of cold. They say that in the past the money they paid for heating their classrooms was less than they have to pay now.

“At first they offered to pay 5 lari, then 6 lari, and they might increase it in two days too. Who knows? The director states that the school budget will not be enough to heat classrooms,” said Mariam.

Kutaisi Resource Centre has not estimated approximate expenditure for heating one school during a day. However Lado Pataridze, the head of Kutaisi Resource Centre, considers it normal if somebody will aid the school financially.

“Of course the state is responsible to warm classrooms for pupils and central budget has apportioned money for it though the practice of donating still works. If parents or some outsider denote money to school, it will be too helpful. Now we can see that launching of central heating at school will be a quite expensive pleasure,”-announces Pataridze.

Despite the fact that the central heating was turned on at the end of November in 25 out of total 45 Kutaisi Public Schools the problem has not been solved yet. In some places of newly installed heating systems water and gas leaked. Representatives of the school management office promised to resolve technical problem on time. Herewith the parents hope to get free from the compulsory fee for ever and the school budget will have enough funds. 

The fact is that Kutasi, Tbilisi and all Public Schools across the Georgia are concerned about similar problems. Winter has come but problems about central heating have not been resolved yet.

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi.