Friday, August 10- August 24, 2007, #152 (1419)

Court rules against Art Academy in admissions scandal

By Ana Kvrivishvili


Rector of the Academy of Arts
Gia Bugadze

On August 6, the City Court ruled that 49 applicants who were summarily failed in their Academy of Art entrance exams should get another chance.

The controversy dates to the beginning of July when the Academy's selection board refused to evaluate submissions of artwork from 49 hopefuls. The administration discriminated against them, the applicants alleged, because their art teacher is unpopular with top Academy officials.

Artists hoping to be admitted to the prestigious Academy, in addition to sitting the National Exams, paint a still-life piece for examiners. The students' works were not evaluated, Academy administration countered, because they did not paint the precise scenes and composition they were to depict. Instead, they changed objects' positions in the final work.

But the 49 artists say they weren't informed about the rules during the exam. The real reason the Academy did not review their work, they charge, is because their shared teacher, Levan Londaridze, is disliked by the Academy's rector.

Every one of Londaridze's students failed the entrance exam.

The rector of the Academy of Arts, Gia Bugadze, denies the claims. He doesn't have a hand in the exams, Bugadze told journalists, and couldn't possibly have any effect on the outcomes.

"We made it clear some months before what kind of composition had to be painted by the applicants during the entrance exams…And Londaridze's group didn't fulfill the task. They just painted scenes learned by heart," Irakli Pachulia, head of the Academy administration, told the Messenger.

The applicants disagreed, filing suit against the Academy. The City Court decided the administration's decision was unjust, ruling that the applicants should be allowed to sit their entrance exams again.

Keti Pantskava, the applicants' lawyer, insists that Academy authorities need to redo those exams before the results of the countrywide National Exams are announced next week. After that, next semester's enrollment at the Academy will be set in stone.

Representatives of the Academy protested the court's decision. The exams were carried out appropriately, they argued, and the applicants' complaints were baseless.

Academy authorities, however, say that they haven't received the details of the court decision yet; as soon as they do, they state, they will pore over them and appeal the verdict.

The drawn-out court procedures will probably prevent the applicants from retaking the exams this year. But the 49 aspiring artists say they're encouraged by the court's ruling, and will fight on to join the ranks of Tbilisi's top art students.


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