Zourabichvili Warns University Merger Threatens Georgia's Education and Independence
By Liza Mchedlidze
Monday, February 2, 2026
The 5th President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili sharply criticized the government's plan to merge Tbilisi State University (TSU) and Georgian Technical University (GTU), calling it a direct attack on education, culture, and national identity. The comments were made during a public discussion on the ongoing education reform.
"It is significant that the regime is targeting education because, until now, the regime only affected society physically. Now it is directly attacking Georgia," Zourabichvili said. She emphasized that the reform is not just administrative, but a threat to the country's identity. "An attack on education is an attack on our soul, our identity, and our Georgian spirit."
According to Zourabichvili, the reform, which merges TSU and GTU under a temporary governing body appointed by the Ministry of Education, will undermine centuries-old educational traditions. She warned that it could isolate Georgia from international academic standards and stall the country's cultural and scientific development.
"Education is the backbone of society, and a society without education is a society of slaves. Repressive laws, arrests, imprisonment, and torture may control physical actions, but this reform is a spiritual attack on what is essential to us," she said. Zourabichvili highlighted Georgia's long history of valuing education, from Saint Nino and the Assyrian fathers to the founding of the State University in 1918.
Zourabichvili criticized the officials behind the reform, including Georgian Dream Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, for receiving their own education abroad while restricting opportunities for Georgian students. "Their children and the children of the pseudo-elite study in Europe, which will become impossible once this reform is implemented," she said.
Zourabichvili also warned that the merger could affect private universities, reduce academic freedom, and increase corruption. "Everyone hopes to survive on their own, keeping their position and income, but this reform will affect everyone. Closed education cannot survive for long, and countries that fall behind will become colonies," she said.
