The merger of two universities means not development, but the simultaneous abolition of both, motivated purely by a political mission, said education expert Rusudan Tevzadze on PalitraNews’ program “Resume.”

According to Rusudan Tevzadze, a university is not merely a set of buildings, and through this initiative the authorities are abolishing a brand.

“This is treason against the country. There is an academic council there - whether formal or informal, the issue should be brought before the academic council. If they enter into discussions and sit around the table to talk about the matter, that would mean they are starting cohabitation, and that will not work. This day would not have come if the protest had been stronger and deeper. A university is not just a building; it is the concept of our country’s statehood, a place where free thought has always been born. By abolishing this, they are effectively abolishing a brand. The merger of two universities means not development, but the abolition of both together, solely for a political mission. This is a partisan mission that this initiative serves,” Tevzadze said.

According to Tevzadze, the university reform is a “paid tribute” to Kutaisi Technological University.

“The damage caused by the conglomerate formed through the merger of Javakhishvili University and the Technical University will be so great that they are unable to fully comprehend it. Kutaisi Technological University has failed to fulfill its role; it has not found a solid place or established itself. When you build such a university, there must also be corresponding regional development. This is a socio-economic university cluster that requires a service sector, and so on. They failed to provide all of this for the university, which suggests that from the very beginning everything was artificial and part of political PR. It is possible that this was done entirely artificially - as a kind of tribute paid to Kutaisi Technological University,” Rusudan Tevzadze said.