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BAKU: Georgia not to close Azeri schools - paper

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  • BAKU: Georgia not to close Azeri schools - paper

    Georgia not to close Azeri schools - paper

    Ekho, Baku
    26 Jun 04

    An official of the Georgian Education Ministry has denied reports that
    the schools of the country's ethnic minorities will be closed as a
    result of reforms in the education system, the Azerbaijani newspaper
    Ekho has reported. Levan Takheladze said that the quality of education
    in the schools of Georgia's ethnic minorities leaves something to be
    desired. In Azeri, Armenian and Russian schools they study by the
    books that come from those countries, he said. The Education Ministry
    intends to translate Georgian textbooks into the languages of the
    ethnic minorities so that they can receive education in line with
    Georgia's own standards, Takheladze told Ekho. The following is a text
    of E. Quliyev report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho on 3 July headlined
    "The Georgian Ministry of Education intends not to close Azeri
    schools, but rather to bring the education system in them in line with
    the educational standards of that country". Subheadings have been
    inserted editorially:

    The threat of closure

    The threat of the closure of all 168 Azeri-language schools in Georgia
    within the next two or three years will emerge as a result of planned
    reforms in the education sector of that country, the chairman of the
    Qeyrat movement of the Azeris in Georgia, Alibala Asgarov, has said in
    a conversation with Ekho.

    According to him, the Georgian education minister [Kakha Lomaia] made
    a statement recently that from 2006 all classes in the Georgian
    schools would be taught in the country's national language.

    According to Asgarov, the minister explained that these measures were
    not directed against the schools of national minorities and that the
    latter could study the history and geography of their historical
    motherland and their native tongue in their own language. "It has to
    be noted, however, that ethnic Azeris in Georgia have been officially
    banned from studying the history and geography of Azerbaijan since
    1996. Only the native language remains," Asgarov said. According to
    the chairman of Qeyrat, in contrast to the educational system of
    Azerbaijan, schools in Georgia are funded from local budgets which
    mainly consist of land taxes.

    "The authorities say that ethnic minorities who are interested in
    preserving their schools should think about sources of funding
    themselves. But the ethnic Azeris have no funds to keep the
    schools. The reforms will violate the right of the ethnic Azeris to
    education."

    Ethnic minorities cannot afford to fund their schools

    In turn, the former member of the Georgian parliament, Zumrud
    Qurbanov, said in a conversation with Ekho that he did not regard as
    trustworthy the rumours that the schools of the ethnic minorities will
    be closed soon or the burden of keeping them will be placed on the
    ethnic minorities themselves. "There are 170 Azeri schools in Georgia
    and some 200 Armenian schools. It is obvious that ethnic minorities
    cannot afford to fund this number of educational institutions.
    According to the Georgian constitution and international law,
    secondary education schools should be funded by the state," the former
    deputy said.

    Meanwhile, the ethnic Armenians are not pleased with the planned
    educational reforms in Georgia either. For example, according to the
    A-Info news agency, cultural departments in predominantly
    Armenian-populated districts have shown their displeasure with the
    project because, if it is implemented, the Armenian schools will lose
    99 per cent of their specialists even if the transformation is
    implemented gradually. Significant funds are required to train
    specialists who speak Georgian, but the state cannot afford to
    allocate them.

    Georgian official denies schools to be closed

    In turn, the head of the Georgian Education Ministry press service,
    Levan Takheladze, said in a conversation with Ekho that the planned
    reforms in the educational sector of Georgia do not envisage the
    closure of the schools of the ethnic minorities. According to him, the
    education system in the schools of the ethnic minorities will be
    brought as a result in line with the standards of the Georgian
    schools."

    The head of the press service noted that the quality of education in
    the schools of the ethnic minorities leaves something to be
    desired. "In Azeri schools, they study by the books that come from
    Azerbaijan, in Armenian schools they study by the books that come from
    Armenia, and the Russian schools get books from Russia. Naturally,
    this state of affairs does not please the leadership of the Education
    Ministry because these manuals are intended for and written according
    to the standards of the countries in which they are published. This is
    why the Georgian Education Ministry decided to translate, using its
    own resources, the books that are used in Georgian schools into the
    languages of the ethnic minorities. This will allow the ethnic
    minorities to receive education that fully complies with the standards
    of the Georgian education system," Levan Takheladze said. According to
    him, rumours that the funding of ethnic schools will become a concern
    for the ethnic minorities are not true. Takheladze emphasized that the
    funding of the schools is a duty of the country's government and that
    the authorities have no intention of delegating their duties to the
    ethnic minorities.

    In a conversation with Ekho, the newly-elected member of the Georgian
    parliament, Allahverdi Humbatov, described all talk about the closure
    of the Azeri schools as a rumour spread by unsuccessful
    politicians. According to Humbatov, the incumbent Georgian authorities
    are not conducting an anti-Azeri policy. "Ethnic Azeris in Georgia
    currently live better than they lived before, and in the future they
    will live better than now," the parliamentarian concluded.
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