With a package of legislative amendments envisaging the reorganization of higher education institutions, the Georgian government has legalized the right to dismantle institutional autonomy and restrict academic freedom, Ilia State University said in a statement.

The university’s highest collegial bodies consider the legislative changes unacceptable, stating that they contradict Article 27 of the Constitution of Georgia.

“On February 3, 2026, the Parliament of Georgia, under an accelerated procedure, reviewed and adopted in the third reading the second package of amendments to the Law on Higher Education, which, among other issues, concerns the reorganization of higher education institutions. Through these amendments to the Law on Higher Education - both the first package (December 16, 2025) and the second package (February 4, 2026) - the Georgian government has granted itself the right to undermine institutional autonomy of higher education institutions and restrict academic freedom, which contradicts the Constitution of Georgia.

The highest collegial bodies of Ilia State University consider unacceptable the legislative changes that conflict with Article 27 of the Constitution of Georgia. We deem it inadmissible to decide fundamental issues of education under an accelerated procedure without agreement with society.

We demand the inviolability of academic freedom and institutional autonomy guaranteed by the Constitution of Georgia,” the statement reads.

The statement is signed by Ilia State University’s highest collegial bodies: the Academic Council, the Representative Council, the Council of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Law School Council, the Council of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Medicine, and the Council of the Faculty of Business, Technology, and Education.