TBILISI, October 20 – Dozens of students rallied outside Georgia’s Ministry of Education in Tbilisi on Monday, protesting a government plan to overhaul the country’s higher education system.
The demonstration was organized by the student movement at Ilia State University, which last week issued a public statement denouncing the reform package announced by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze. The students say the reform would not improve education quality but instead increase political control over universities.
“This reform is not about better education, it’s about silencing critical thinking, censorship, and turning universities into political tools,” the organizers said in a statement.
Participants held banners calling on professors and teachers to join the protest, warning that the changes pose a threat to both academic freedom and the future of young people in Georgia.
The demonstration comes amid a heated national debate over Kobakhidze’s proposed reform, which would reshape university governance, research funding, and accreditation. The government argues that the goal is to raise academic standards and reduce bureaucracy. Critics in the university sector and among the opposition claim the changes would tighten state control over academic institutions and undermine their independence.
Ilia State University has become a focal point of student dissent under Georgian Dream. Monday’s protest adds to a growing wave of criticism against the ruling party’s education agenda, which many fear could erode the autonomy of universities and suppress dissenting voices.
