“Most teachers employed in public schools will be placed in a position where they are turned into supporters of the authorities. Schools will no longer produce educated young people; instead, we will have a generation fed on propaganda, who will believe whatever they are told. They will be deprived of the ability to think and will no longer be capable of critical judgment,” says Giorgi Kvikvinia, an English language teacher, in an interview with Batumelebi.
We spoke with the teacher about the school reform planned by Georgian Dream, which envisages the abolition of the 12th grade.
Mr. Giorgi, as a teacher, what kind of problem do you see in the possible abolition of the 12th grade? What will students lose as a result?
It will certainly be a very serious problem, because it will hinder young people from accessing education at foreign universities.
At the school where I work, we are always oriented toward helping students pursue education not only in Georgia but also abroad. We actively support them in applying to study in the United States or various European countries. If this change is implemented, they will lose that opportunity.
How many of your students have gone abroad to study?
Quite a lot. More than 40% of graduating students usually go abroad, and this year around 70% of 12th graders will be leaving to study outside Georgia.
Incidentally, Georgian Dream uses these statistics and says, “Look, they go abroad and don’t return, but we want young people to stay in the country.” However, they don’t talk about what they are actually offering young people here. What is needed to make young people want to study in Georgia rather than elsewhere?
In your view, what needs to be done to keep young people in the country?
First of all, the motive behind abolishing the 12th grade is very simple. Georgian Dream has chosen a course not toward Europe, but toward Russia, and is doing everything it can to distance us from the European Union and to suffocate this opportunity in every possible way.
They package this goal as if it were about caring for young people, and they will probably convince a portion of society that is already under the influence of propaganda.
However, I also know people who may support Georgian Dream but still disagree with this change and believe it will be a very bad decision not for some specific group, but for the entire country.
For one thing, students who receive education abroad do return to Georgia not all of them stay abroad and they use the knowledge they have gained to contribute to the country’s development.
Representatives of Georgian Dream themselves were educated in Europe. If it wasn’t bad for them then, why is it bad for our children now? Why did they go themselves, and why do they think others won’t return?
I myself received education funded by the European Union and completed retraining courses in European countries, including the United Kingdom. I didn’t learn anything anti-national there. I returned and used everything I learned for the benefit of my students.
This is one of the best ways to receive a quality education, and if you don’t offer young people quality education here, why shouldn’t they leave?
Teachers should have decent salaries and working conditions, just as young people who are supposedly “fleeing” the country should have real prospects. If you want them to stay, then create good working conditions here. Instead, we see situations where people without diplomas earn 17,000 GEL, while those with education and diplomas do not and then this is spun through propaganda television to convince society of the opposite.
The aspiration toward European education is not foreign to Georgian society; we have historical experience with this going back centuries.
Prime Minister Kobakhidze said that if someone wants to study in the 12th grade, they should go to Europe and finish school there. But that statement reflects their own perspective — the perspective of privileged families who can afford it.
Their children won’t have a problem with this. Other young people, however, will lose this opportunity entirely – especially if we also lose visa-free travel.
In your opinion, is this truly the underlying goal – to strip young people of opportunities?
Beyond taking away opportunities, look at how these “reforms” are unfolding.
In reality, most teachers employed in the public sector, in public schools, will be placed in a position where they are turned into loyal supporters of the authorities. Some already are.
Then a form of education will follow that promotes obedience in the new generation as well. Teachers’ salaries may even be increased, and in exchange for these incentives, many will do whatever the authorities demand.
Schools will no longer produce educated young people. Instead, we will have a generation fed on propaganda, who will believe whatever they are told. They will be deprived of the ability to think and will no longer be capable of critical judgment.
Are young people asking questions about this issue?
Yes, they are asking questions and are deeply distressed.
I have spoken with 11th-grade students who are already preparing to continue their education in the United States, and they are afraid that the 12th grade will be abolished.
They view all of this very negatively and often ask me what can be done to oppose it.
Society needs to wake up, but everything seems structured in such a way that people feel their actions have no impact.
To have quality education in the country, universities need progressive-minded lecturers, and real jobs must be created with good working conditions and decent pay. When someone works hard and ends up earning only 1,200 GEL, it’s natural to want to leave.
That’s why, in addition to good salaries and working conditions, people need the freedom to express their views openly — not an environment where people are divided by labels and herded like sheep from one place to another.