It was proposed to start the reorganization process, to form a temporary governing body, however, this governing body should not discuss the issues immediately or within a few months, but at least within two years, two and a half years, - Minister of Education, Science and Youth Givi Mikanadze stated after a meeting with representatives of TSU and GTU.

According to the minister, representatives of both universities expressed a position that a working group should be created before the reorganization begins, which would discuss all issues.

“Today, I had my first meeting with representatives of both universities. Twenty representatives from each university were present. The first and most important thing is that we all agree that the higher education system is facing challenges, reform is necessary, important and must be implemented. We all agree that the issues that are envisaged by the reform concept must be implemented because its outcome is of vital, special importance for the further development of our country.

I had the opportunity to listen to the representatives of both universities, to understand their positions on specific issues, and after that, I had a specific proposal, an offer regarding the processes related to the unification of the two universities. This week, the Parliament discussed legislative amendments, these amendments were adopted by the Parliament and signed by the President, which means that the legal bases have already entered into force. Accordingly, one of the norms generally concerns the implementation of the reorganization process, during which the Minister appoints a temporary rector, deputies and chancellor, also a governing body is being formed, this is a temporary council, on which we stated that this council should be staffed in equal numbers from both universities on a parity basis, and we had a proposal on this very issue to form a temporary council from representatives of both universities, and have them submit candidacies. The reorganization process should not take place in a few months, but should be carried out over at least two years, two and a half years. It was proposed to start the reorganization process, to form a temporary governing body, however, this governing body should not discuss issues immediately or within a few months, but at least over two years, two and a half years, it should reconcile all positions and only after reconciliation should the entire reorganization be completed.

Representatives of both universities expressed a desire not to go through this process, but to create a working group that would first discuss all these issues and then make a decision, and then implement further steps regarding the reorganization.

Ultimately, we all noted that this meeting and this dialogue were of utmost importance. My request was that the academic community of both universities once again think about that specific proposal, analyze its aspects related to the implementation and feasibility of the reform, and discuss their feasibility. At the same time, the position was expressed that we, as a team, will once again reconcile the positions that were expressed and discuss what we can additionally offer in relation to this process,” said Givi Mikanadze.