150 Indian students at Batumi State University to have their status suspended

150 Indian students of the Batumi State University, Faculty of Science and Education will have their status suspended due to the Covid-19 induced travel restrictions to India, the university has announced on April 20, adding that those students will still be allowed to participate in distance learning. Batumi State University resolution of the Academic Council notes that those students who have failed to sign the registration certificate at the Dean of the Faculty on May 13-14, 2021, will be subject to administrative proceedings for suspension of student status.

The Tolerance and Diversity Institute of Georgia has issued a statement condemning the incident:

“The Tolerance and Diversity Institute (TDI) responds to the recent alarming decision of the rector of Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University (BSU), by which the university started administrative proceedings against foreign students of the Faculty of Exact Science and Education to terminate their student status. By this decision, more than 150 Indian students, who can not arrive in Georgia due to the pandemic and the existing restriction on travel from India, will be suspended from student status. Government restrictions have had a direct impact on the condition of students.”

The statement of the TDI also noted that the University’s decision lacks objective reasoning, as it offers students an option of online learning but requires them to be present in the country nevertheless:

“The current decision of the University lacks objective and rational reasoning. It offers the students online learning, however, requires them to be present in Georgia and to turn up at the dean’s office to sign the registration paper. BSU does not take into consideration the clearly objective circumstances that due to the harsh pandemic situation and the strict restrictions for students to travel from India to Georgia, they are unable to arrive in the country to sign the papers on time. The BSU does not allow the students to undergo registration online. The decision of the university is ungrounded and discriminatory.”