“People still have not realized that Georgian Dream is erecting an Iron Curtain between us and Europe, between us and civilization,” says historian Bejan Javakhia, Professor at Ilia State University and Head of the Bachelor’s and Doctoral Programs in History and the Master’s Program in Medieval Studies.
Batumelebi spoke with Bejan Javakhia about the university reform announced by Georgian Dream to begin next year, which he says threatens not only university autonomy but the higher education system as a whole.
Mr. Bejan, in your view, what awaits Georgian universities if Georgian Dream fully implements its plan?
We will face a very severe situation both for universities and for professors, lecturers, and students. The main objective is to subordinate universities to the authorities, or more precisely, to a political party. That party would become the helmsman, the ruler of everyone and everything.
In the 1980s, when the student movement began, the first goal was to gain university autonomy. I remember saying even then that the country itself must first be independent, because in an occupied country, a university cannot be independent.
Now we are witnessing exactly this example. Free universities exist only in free states; otherwise, they become organs of government propaganda and ideological support, as they were during the Soviet period.
The one-party parliament of Georgian Dream has decided that in order to retain power, it needs universities that will support its ideology and serve as instruments of propaganda.
Naturally, in this situation Georgian Dream will restrict academic freedom, obstruct the internationalization of programs, and limit contacts with foreign institutions. Accordingly, this is one of the most dangerous situations for the future of this country if this reform is implemented.
So they are creating a Soviet-style model? Or could the outcome be even worse?
They are creating a Soviet model. When you prohibit certain programs at universities and then the state defines the university’s profile, drafts programs itself, and decides which faculties should exist at which universities—this is the Soviet model.
They fight us with pseudo-nationalism, don’t they? “We want peace,” “We want a national state,” “We don’t want Europe.” These are their slogans. They used to say, “Saakashvili brought in Turks,” and now they themselves are creating Arab villages and cities. And yet, through propaganda, they get away with it.
These are people of propaganda. Now they tell society that their children will grow up better if the state raises them. These are people with a Soviet mentality.
That is why they have declared war on universities where there are no imposed authorities, where free ideas exist, where knowledge is acquired and students’ cognitive skills are developed. Lectures must be interactive; students must express their opinions, ask questions, and reach conclusions. In other words, they must develop the ability to analyze and evaluate. This is precisely what they dislike and fight against.
I believe Ilia State University is particularly outstanding in this regard, and that is precisely why they want to destroy it most of all.
The greatest crime was when we turned a blind eye to the first attacks on universities and allowed the Free University to be shut down. Ilia State University was nearly stripped of its authorization. It was also a mistake to change universities’ legal status and transfer them from non-commercial legal entities to public legal entities.
Universities must be given a free market and allowed to decide for themselves how they will develop.
If universities become single-profile institutions, we will not be able to create interdisciplinary programs. For example, to study the medieval era, you must study the medieval person—their mindset, art, archaeological monuments, architecture, literature, and so on. This reform deprives me, as a historian, of the ability to create such programs, even though they are considered progressive worldwide today.
They are deliberately dismantling all of this and dragging us back into the Soviet system.
I remember professors who would enter the lecture hall and you couldn’t ask them a question. They would stare at the ceiling, and that was the lecture. Even today, some people still think this Soviet system was good.
For five semesters we studied the History of the Peoples of the Soviet Union, for three semesters the History of the Communist Party, for two semesters Scientific Communism, for two Dialectical Materialism, for two Historical Materialism… Do you understand?
And in which semester did you actually learn your profession?
That’s exactly my point. In one semester I had to take five exams and at least ten credits. How could you study 15 subjects in one semester? Everything was purely formal.
This is the kind of university they will create where education is formal and where they will raise agitators instead. Just as today a large number of teachers are involved in the electoral system, they will raise a generation that has not shared Western experience.
The reduction of programs will also mean that students will no longer have the opportunity to spend a semester at European universities. I have students who have completed at least one semester at European universities. If we switch to Georgian Dream’s model, future students will no longer have this opportunity.
The system of lifelong education is being dismantled, and universities will retain only their own nomenklatura.
They are destroying the future of young people. But this will not affect the children of Georgian Dream officials—they have family members in Europe or the United States. Eventually, these children will compete with a generation whose access to the West is being closed today and who are being left in isolation.
Just look at those who say they don’t want Europe their children study in Europe. Not only do they study there, many were born there and hold European or U.S. citizenship. They will close these opportunities for others and leave the path open only for their own nomenklatura.
People still have not realized that an Iron Curtain is being erected between us and Europe, between us and civilization.
How capable is the academic community today of resisting the regime, and will you be able to defend university autonomy?
It’s difficult to answer because we are not even given time to concentrate on these issues. Every day they create new scandals to divert public attention, while the country faces enormous problems, the economy is collapsing, and they want to govern through chaos. Students are in dire social conditions studying while working under harsh circumstances.
If their diplomas lose value, if they no longer have the right to compete on equal footing in employment or to live in an open society, what is the point of such work or such a diploma? Have they even thought about this?
Look at the environment they are creating. People are appointed to positions who cannot even locate their own diplomas. Education and diplomas will no longer be necessary for many, because there will be no demand for them.
Moreover, many people still cannot imagine or do not want to believe that tomorrow everything could be shut down. Yet this is possible. In 1921, many did not believe that studying in France or other European universities would become impossible, but that is exactly what happened. Everything closed.
What will be the point that makes people see this danger?
That is what amazes me—that people are in such a difficult situation and still fail to grasp many things. “I work and study—what more do I need?” That’s the perspective from which they view everything.
The harsher the conditions become, the more values will be lost. All of this is aimed at breaking young people, students, and professors morally. You see how only a handful of professors remain active today. These are people who accept working with rectors who serve the party, not the university.
So does the regime succeed in this sphere as well?
I think we still have a chance to win, but it requires greater unity, large-scale strikes, and resistance. Unfortunately, even within the intellectual community, there is no unified system of resistance today. The solution also lies in what we are doing now—you are covering these issues, we are speaking out. Resistance must involve as many people as possible.
Some students are also trying to express protest—the banner “Not for Sale” is displayed at Ilia State University. We simply need much greater unity, because the regime’s goal is to divide society and set people against one another.