Reorganization at the National Assessment and Examinations Center – “Everyone who attended protests was dismissed”

According to information obtained by Batumelebi, around 40 employees have been dismissed from the National Assessment and Examinations Center (NAEC).

Former employees of the center, who spoke with Batumelebi, confirm the information, although the center has not yet made an official statement.

Dimitri Jamburia, a long-time employee of the Examinations Center, was also dismissed as part of the so-called reorganization.

Jamburia claims that the reorganization mainly targeted employees who are critical of the ruling Georgian Dream government and who participate in protest rallies.

“Staff positions were reduced across various departments; the legal department was abolished entirely. I worked in exam administration for more than 20 years. Personally, I link my dismissal to my participation in protests. I had already expected to be let go.

Anyone who went to the protests was fired. Everyone was doing their job well; they were all professionals,” Jamburia said.

He believes that the center will suffer as a result of the dismissals, since experienced and qualified employees have been removed.

“They wanted to punish those who were active,” he told us.

Batumelebi also spoke with Giorgi Ratiani, who was likewise affected by the reorganization. He had worked at the center since 2012.

“My department was included in the cuts and was abolished entirely. It was a research unit, and since the department no longer exists, my position was eliminated too. I can’t say what the real reason behind the reorganization is,” Ratiani said.

Another employee, Nadiko Tavazde, declined to comment and did not answer whether she remained employed or was dismissed.

Another staff member, Khatuna Mkheidze, confirmed that the reorganization process took place but said she kept her job and had no objections to the changes.

“I am staying. The reorganization had already been announced and was completed at the end of November. Every center needs reorganization,” Mkheidze said.

Batumelebi contacted the Examinations Center to ask why employees were being dismissed.

The center responded only with the following: “A reorganization and optimization of primary structural units was announced on October 1. The process is still ongoing and will be completed at the end of December.” The center did not answer how many employees have been dismissed so far.

Education expert Simon Janashia also responded on Facebook to the dismissals taking place at the Examinations Center.

In his view, the dismissals are part of another wave of repression by the ruling Georgian Dream party against critical opinion.

“I have criticized this center many times mainly because the current university admissions system helps maintain inequality in the education system. I criticized it because school education has become overly focused on exam preparation, strengthening the role of private tutoring.

But it’s impossible not to acknowledge that these people created a system that significantly reduced corruption in education, introduced new expertise in test development, exam administration, and educational research. Thanks to them, we have much better data about teachers’ and school principals’ competencies. Their work ensured that for the past 20 years testing remained minimally influenced by political interests.

Recently, employees at the center were told: either participate in protests, or keep your jobs. In reality, the choice was: give up your civic rights and dignity, or give up your salary. These people chose dignity, and they were punished for it.

Solidarity with the professionals repressed by this shameless regime! This madness must end!” Janashia wrote, announcing a protest march on November 28 near Tbilisi State University.