(Georgia's Ministry of Education)
Georgia’s education ministry has announced plans to scrap standardised graduation testing for secondary school students and to drop one of the four Unified National Exams — the standardised entrance exams for Georgian universities. [Read more…]
Boys do press-ups on the grassless football field during a physical education class. These classes are lead by Zaza Gogochuri, the sports teacher for year 5 to year 12. ‘We play football a lot,’ he says. ‘If there were more sports facilities, I would be able to teach them basketball and boxing.’ (Ian McNaught Davis/OC Media)
In the mountain village of Barisakho, in Georgia’s northern, historical Khevsureti region, children at the local school have nowhere to practice sports. [Read more…]
Otar Kakhidze, Sergi Kapanadze and Elene Khoshtaria (Mzia Saganelidze - RFE/RL)
Investigators from the Khorava Street murder case faced questioning from MPs on Monday, into alleged failures by the investigation. A parliamentary commission was set up in the wake of large street protests in Tbilisi, which followed the partial acquittal of the suspects in the case and allegations the investigation was mishandled. [Read more…]
UNM MP Nika Melia (Mari Nikuradze/OC Media)
The opposition United National Movement Party (UNM), as well as two other minor parties, has announced they are officially joining anti-government protests currently taking place in Tbilisi. UNM MP Nika Melia addressed crowds gathered outside parliament after meeting with protest leaders and said the protests would resume on Sunday at 18:00 where they will announce a plan for how to continue [Read more…]
Zaza Saralidze (Dato Parulava/OC Media)
Georgia’s chief prosecutor, Irakli Shotadze, has resigned, following large protests in Tbilisi. The protests have been sparked by what critics call a ‘compromised investigation’ into the fatal stabbing of two teenagers outside a school in Tbilisi in December. On Thursday, Tbilisi City Court found one teenager guilty of killing Levan Dadunashvili, while another was found guilty of the lesser charge of attempted murder on Davit Saralidze, leaving open the question of who killed him. [Read more…]
People gathering at the Prosecutor’s Office where the father of murdered teenager Davit Saralidze is holding a demonstration (Tatia Khaliani /Liberali)
Tbilisi City Court has acquitted two teenagers of the murder of Davit Saralidze, one of the two teenagers killed in a school brawl in December. The court found one of the defendant’s guilty of killing the second victim, Levan Dadunashvili, while the other was found guilty of the attempted murder of Saralidze. The pair are to be sentenced on 1 June. [Read more…]
(Mari Nikuradze/OC Media)
Thousands of protesters blocked Tbilisi’s central Rustaveli Avenue on Sunday demanding a proper investigation into last December’s fatal stabbing of two teenagers outside their school. The father of one of the victim’s accused the authorities of tampering with evidence during the investigation. [Read more…]
A school in the Tartar District (Seymur Kazimov /OC Media)
Children with disabilities in Azerbaijan do not always have the chance to benefit from their right to an education. Special education facilities are not available in most regions of the country — and this is no exception in the villages along the frontline.
(Sheki-ih.gov.az)
In the Internet age, discussions of bullying are becoming more global. In Azerbaijan, such discussions shed light on attitudes in the country towards violence, masculinity, and honour. The toughest lessons in these are often forced on children on the school grounds, and can lead to lasting trauma. [Read more…]
Book sale-off in Baku organized by Qanun Publishing House (Facebook)
Almost three decades after independence, Russian language still plays a large role in Azerbaijan. Many of the country’s schools and universities are divided: into the Azerbaijani-medium Azsector, and a Russian-language sector. But the divide goes far beyond the language: graduates of the Russian sector often see themselves as the elites of society, more progressive, more open-minded, and more cultured. In turn, they are portrayed as aloof, unpatriotic, and not ‘real’ Azerbaijanis. [Read more…]
