Agrarian University accreditation will be restored
By Keti Arjevanidze
Tuesday, March 19
“Accreditation for Agrarian University will be restored very soon,” the Minister of Education and Science, Giorgi Margvelashvili announced on March 18, during a meeting with diplomatic corps and NGO representatives. He added that there is political readiness to solve the dispute around the issue.
Education Minister revealed that his department regarding Agrarian University worked in the frameworks of the law.
According to the minister, Agrarian University corrected all the faults due to which the accreditation was suspended. Although the Minister stated that there is no need of abolishing the March 12 decision by the council of the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement.
Meanwhile, Agrarian University students demand to abolish the council’s decision. According to the students, the re-accreditation process is connected with a number of problems, they said that several education programs will be abolished and grant programs will also be stopped for students.
Agrarian University students state that their demands are not changed and announced a protest rally with the demand that the Ministry of Education and Science “own-up to their mistake” and abolish authorization council’s decision.
Student, Giorgi Kikaleishvili, said that despite being satisfied at the minister’s decision, he explained that they demand not new accreditation, but the previous one; otherwise they lose grants and other educational programs.
Agrarian University rector, Lasha Gotsiridze, shares the students’ position. According to him, the students' demand to abolish the authorization council decision is legal.
In response to the students protest, the minister stated that it created a “comic situation”. The Minister underlined that the university corrected the defects and nothing hinders the accreditation restoration process. He stressed that now students should decide whether they want accreditation or politics involved in the issue.
The minister said that in two-three weeks it will be restored.
According to Kakha Kozhoridze, head of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), the main question is how right the decision was in the first place. He stated that in order to answer the question, the council’s decision needs to be reviewed, “as there is not any official argumentation regarding the council’s decision. Consequently, the legal answer to the question is early,” explained Kozhoradze.
He added that the GYLA has asked for the documentation from the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement and as soon as they receive it their stable and legal position will be known.
