Infrastructure Minister: Decision to suspend classes at Tbilisi School 21 followed formal expert safety assessment

The Ministry of Education acted in accordance with necessary safety protocols as soon as the forensic engineering evaluation regarding Tbilisi Public School No. 21 arrived, Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure Revaz Sokhadze declared.

The Minister stated that once the Levan Samkharauli National Forensic Bureau delivered its official assessment of the building’s structural safety, the Ministry of Infrastructure immediately shared the findings with the Ministry of Education, leading to the swift suspension of on-site academic activities.

“No one is more concerned or distressed by the challenges facing the education sector than we are. We work daily to resolve infrastructure bottlenecks in this field as swiftly and efficiently as possible. We are always completely open about where problems exist; we do not evade issues or hide them; where structural problems arise, we address the public with full transparency,” Revaz Sokhadze stated.

The Minister stated that tenders for construction and renovation work have been rolled out across dozens of schools nationwide in recent months. Meanwhile, standardised architectural plans tailored to different school sizes are being finalised ahead of further procurement tenders at the end of the year.

Addressing delays on certain ongoing projects, Sokhadze attributed abandoned construction sites to contractors failing to meet their contractual obligations, adding that legal action has been initiated in several cases.

“We have abandoned construction sites where companies face criminal proceedings precisely because they failed to fulfil their obligations on time,” the Minister explained, noting that resuming work on such sites requires formal inventory audits before new tenders can be issued.

For context, students and parents from Tbilisi Public School No. 21 have staged protest rallies, following a sudden text notification informing them that the school building was structurally compromised and unsafe, necessitating the immediate suspension of classes and the emergency relocation of pupils to alternative facilities.

For context, parents and pupils of Tbilisi Public School No. 21 staged a protest outside the premises. Demonstrators expressed outrage after receiving a last-minute text message notifying them that the facility was structurally compromised, forcing an immediate halt to on-site teaching and reassignment of pupils to other schools across the city.