Gulen Network Batumi Private School Accreditation Revoked
BATUMI – General Educational Authorization Council of Georgia has decided to revoke accreditation of a private Turkish Shahin Lyceum in Georgia’s coastal city Batumi, saying that after monitoring they observed “serious violations” of the rules about students’ enrollment.
Batumi R. Shahin Friendship Lyceum, which has been in operation since 1994, is a Fethullah Gulen Network school. It is the political opponent of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who stands accused of involvement in the attempted coup on July 15 2016.
Turkish Consul General Yasin Temiskani told Adjara local TV that, “children at Shahin Lyceum are brought up with an extremist ideology," on July 19, 2016. Later, the consul disavowed the comments, blaming the TV for an incorrect translation. The statement by the consul was also translated by the Consulate’s own interpreter.
Shahin Lyceum Director, Elguja Davitadze says that the school’s accreditation was allegedly taken away due to political motives.
Davitadze says that there are 340 students at school, and only 6 of them are Turkish citizens.
“Turkish citizens have been studying at our school for 9 years already, and this has not caused any problems. Georgia’s Education Ministry told us to abolish the Turkish sector if we wanted to keep our accreditation. We agreed to abolish the Turkish sector gradually, by transferring Turkish students to Georgian sector, but the ministry said this was a violation and recoked our accredidation” the Director said.
The principal called on Georgia’s prime minister, president and education minister, to personally take charge of the issue and protect the rights of the students, their parents, and teachers.
Despite the decision of the Authorization Council, the school continues to function, since according to the Director, they have not received any written notification yet.
Education, Culture, and Sports Minister of Adjara, Inga Shamilishvili says that the students of Shahin School will be transferred to the other educational institutions.
“We will wait for the final decision of Accreditation Service and after this we will discuss the issue with the Education Ministry of Georgia,” said Shamilishvili.
Georgia’s Public Defender, Ucha Nanuashvili also commented on the issue. He believes the decision of the Authorization Council should be well-grounded.
“I think the developments in our neighbor country should not affect Georgian educational institutions. If there are any restrictions about Shahin Lyceum, they should be grounded in facts,” said Nanuashvili.
The Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Tolerance and Diversity Institute, says they met Shahin School Director and listened to his explanations.“ The sudden revokation of the school’s accreditation raises many questions. We are studying this issue,” reports the Tolerance and Diversity Institute.
By Thea Morrison