High Education Crisis

Students Want Reformed University System

In the beginning of August, after the entry exams, the two students: Tea Tutberidze (F) and Giorgi Gotsiridze (M) appealed to a court against present rules of admittance to the universities. This is an unprecedented event in Georgian history. Students might achieve fundamental change of the 70 years old system.

On August 12, the students, who have failed at the entry exams and their parents gathered at the Public Defender’s Office. They are supporting the appeal of the two students to the Vake-Saburtalo district court. The two students are demanding cancellation of the administrative act connected with the rules of entry exams. People, gathered at the ombudsman’s office demanded admission of the students who have failed at the exams.

As the protesters claimed, many students are preparing for the exams with the teachers that are members of the examination commissions, and therefore these students are guaranteed with certain privileges at the exams. These circumstances result in conflict of interests and put many students in disadvantageous situation.

As Tea Tutberidze says, initially they submitted their claims to the university’s administration. Along with modification of the examination rules, they also suggested structural reorganization of the university. Instead of having 21 faculties, they recommended creating 5 schools: law, business, humanitarian, natural sciences and medical; separation of the academic and administrative management; limitation of the terms of serving at managing positions.

The students are concerned with necessity of regulation of the management election. At presents managers of the faculties are elected by the faculty councils. Students want to be equally represented in the councils and increase students’ representations in the Great Council (highest managerial body) up to two thirds. And, most importantly, the faculties should enjoy full academic, administrative and financial independence.

Since students’ striving did not bring any good result, they appealed to the court. “Our misfortune is that the university administration is trying to benefit from illiteracy of the next generations” – one of the students says.

University authorities reject all accusations. Vice-rector of the State University Parmen Margvelashviil believes these to be fabricated problem.

However, students and their parents, who have gathered at the Public Defender’s Office directly accused exam commission in corruption. One of the students, Natia Lomauridze (f), was applying to the department of the IT and Applied Mathematics. She says that at the exam many students cheated, copying down solutions from each other and the examiners never paid attention to this. At the Georgian language exam, examiners have been correcting mistakes of some students right in their draft papers. However, the protesters cannot name these examiners and have no hard evidence of abuse.

Many other students back up Natia’s claims and feel themselves discriminated. Together with their parents, they established a Students and Parents Committee, which demands admission of the students kicked out at the exams and distribution between free and pay sectors according to their grades in the first semester. They pledge to use every mean to push through their demands.

Skeptics say that the University simply cannot accommodate all pretenders. Proposed model will not be fair either, since after the first semester the students shall be graded by the lectors, who are being accused of corruption.

“We understand that our model has many weakness, but this would be a first step towards total modification of the system and making administration to go for more global changes” – says 20 years old student Giorgi Kandelaki.

Special seven-member group created by the President two years ago, has elaborated an anti-corruption program. One of its coauthors David Usupashvili says that there is a separate chapter in the document, dedicated to the corruption in the education system. “This sector has been separated from others not because corruption there has largest scales, but because it is has biggest importance in fight against corruption”.

Gigi Tevzadze, member of the Anticorruption Council (executive body of the Anticorruption Program) says that it does not matter how the corruption takes place in the university – whether it is taking bribes or giving good marks to friend’s son or daughter. All these appear most vividly during the entry exams, but the corruption also takes places during the semester or state (final) exams and granting of the academic degrees.

Tevzadze foresees creation of a special state agency to change the system. Each student that has graduated form the school and wishes to have a higher education will pass special test, which would reduce subjective factor to the minimum. According to the score, taken in the exam and request of the universities, the students will be admitted to various faculties.

But before the reforms are conducted, situation in the universities remains unclear. According to the present administrative code, appeal submitted to the court shall suspend the code until the final decision of the court. Hence fate of the admitted students is under the question. The solution must be found very quickly for on September 2 an academic year will start in every university in Georgia.

Revaz Bakhtadze, Civil Georgia