Prepared by Messenger Staff
Public Broadcaster Employees Demand Political Discussions on Daytime TV
Employees of Georgia's Public Broadcasting Company are continuing to call for the channel to dedicate daytime programming to public and political discussions, following widespread protests sparked by the November 28 announcement from Georgian Dream's Irakli Kobakhidze that EU membership negotiations were postponed until 2028.
The employees emphasized that the current socio-political climate requires urgent dialogue, stating, "The current events oblige us to dedicate the television air to dialogue on socio-political issues and not to films that have nothing to do with today's reality." They argue that this is a critical time for the country and that the broadcaster has the capacity to offer such programming if there is a willingness from management.
Despite multiple appeals, the employees expressed frustration at the lack of response, with one statement noting, "Unfortunately, many of our public appeals and official letters were not followed by a business and reasoned response from the management." They added, "We know that if there is a will, the public broadcaster has the means to provide it technically."
A press conference will be held on Monday, December 23, at 1 p.m. in front of the Public Broadcaster building. In their statement, the employees reaffirmed their commitment to impartial and full coverage: "We believe that impartial and full coverage and analysis of the process is our duty as employees of the public broadcaster."
Georgia's Education Quality Center to Appeal EQAR Suspension
Lasha Margishvili, Acting Director of the National Center for Education Quality Development, announced that the institution will appeal the decision to suspend its registration with the European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR).
At a press conference, Margishvili stated, "A large part of the recommendations they had have been corrected, there are still some issues that we continue to work on, and we will definitely ensure that the EQAR registration center is established as soon as possible."
The suspension came after concerns were raised that Georgia's higher education system had violated European quality assurance standards. On December 6, it was reported that Georgia's membership in both the EQAR and the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) had been at risk due to these violations.
