“There is complete unity within the university community. We will try not to allow Ilia State University, which occupies an important place in Georgia’s history, to end in this form,” said Giorgi Gvalia, Deputy Rector of Ilia State University.

According to him, the determination of student admission quotas in relation to Ilia State University effectively means the abolition of the university in its current form.

“This is a shocking decision that has nothing to do with genuine education reform or improving the quality of education. The only result will be a long-term negative impact on Georgia, lowering the overall quality of education. The decision effectively means the dismantling of one of the country’s most successful universities. The university currently runs about 1,000 programs in various fields, and under this decision, only pedagogical and ABET-accredited programs would remain. This means losing around 90% of its programs and students. In effect, the university as we know it would no longer exist.

Starting from the fall semester, admissions to a number of programs will cease, which will naturally reduce the number of students. This decline will negatively affect the university’s financial stability and create problems not only for maintaining and developing pedagogical programs, but also for sustaining existing ones. We will do everything we can to retain our academic staff, but a significant drop in student numbers and financial resources will inevitably affect staffing as well,” Gvalia said.

Asked what steps the university plans to take, the deputy rector said they intend to challenge the decision.

“We will resist this decision as much as possible, because we believe it is illegitimate and contradicts the Constitution of Georgia. We will use every legal mechanism available, both domestically and internationally, to defend our position. There is complete unity within the university community, and we will try to ensure that this university does not end in this way,” Gvalia noted.

For reference, the Georgian government has approved new student admission quotas at state universities. Under the decision, Ilia State University will be allowed to admit students only to pedagogy programs and STEM specialties with ABET accreditation.