By merging two weak institutions, you don’t create a strong one. Georgia’s two century-old universities were clearly in a dire condition in terms of international rankings and quality of education, and now, through this merger, they will fall even below that minimum threshold, said one of the leaders of Lelo - Strong Georgia, Tazo Datunashvili, commenting on the merger of Tbilisi State University (TSU) and the Georgian Technical University (GTU).

According to him, two interests are evident behind the merger of the universities: the complete destruction of academic freedom and the establishment of total control, as well as property-related interests.

“I think this is the implementation of a plan they have already outlined - ‘one university, one faculty.’ These are two century-old universities in Georgia that were clearly in a deplorable condition in terms of international rankings and the quality of education, and now this merger will push them even further down, because by merging two weak institutions, you don’t create a strong one. They want to unite two extremely weak monsters. Two interests are at play here. One is the complete destruction of academic freedom and total control. Criminal elements are already running these universities. The second is clearly a property issue - the interest in the real estate that these two historic universities own in the very center of the city. There is simply no other substantive explanation as to why the Technical University, which has its own century-old history, should be merged with Tbilisi State University,” Datunashvili stated.

For reference, by a government decision, Tbilisi State University and the Georgian Technical University will be merged. According to the Minister of Education, Science and Youth of Georgia, Givi Mikanadze, in order to carry out the merger, a temporary governing body - a council - will be established by ministerial decree, and acting rectors and vice-rectors will be appointed to oversee the reorganization process.