Georgia ombudsman decries closure of famous Turkish school in Batumi

Georgia’s ombudsman Ucha Nanuashvili has said he disagrees with the education ministry’s decision to shut down a famous Refaddin Sahin school in Batumi, Ajara.

The school has been active since 1994 and is considered to be one of the best private schools in Ajara, a Georgia region abutting on Turkey. Violations of the enrolment procedure have been officially cited as the reason why the education ministry’s authorization council decided to halt the school’s license on February 3.

This is not the first time the school has found itself in hot water. Last July, Yasin Temizkan, Turkey’s consul general in Georgia, claimed in an interview to the local TV ‘Channel 25’ that the school had ties to the ‘terrorist group’ led by Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric living in self-imposed exile in the USA who the Turkish authorities accuse of masterminding the failed 2016 May coup. He said he was going to ask the Georgian government to close the school. Later, Turkey’s ambassador to Georgia played down the consul general’s words, saying they had been wrongly translated.

‘Political processes taking place in the neighboring country must not impact Georgia’s educational institutions which are registered and operate in accordance with our laws,’ said ombudsman Ucha Nanuashvili.

Pending official notification about the closure, the Refaddin Sahin school has continued to work. Its managers say they will appeal against the authorization council’s decision.

The education ministry is now trying to figure out how to redistribute the school’s 350 pupils to other schools.