GD Scraps Plan to Merge Georgia’s Technical University with Tbilisi State University
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said Georgia’s Technical University (GTU) will no longer merge with Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU), scrapping a controversial plan opposed by students and academic personnel at both institutions.
Kobakhidze announced the decision during a January 9 briefing with Georgian Dream Education Minister Givi Mikanadze, following a meeting with GTU representatives at the government administration.
He also said that as part of broader higher education reforms, which include the “one city, one faculty” principle, GTU will become a “purely technical university,” meaning it will no longer admit students for non-technical disciplines starting next year. Kobakhidze said the university will offer only programs that were available there “before the 1990s.”
“The two universities will no longer merge,” Kobakhidze said. “As for [the GTU’s] non-technical programs, they will remain in a transitional mode. Accordingly, starting this year, admissions for the corresponding programs at the Technical University will no longer be announced,” he added, noting that it was a “joint decision” reached after a meeting with GTU representatives, who, Kobakhidze said, endorsed the GD government’s broader higher education reform.
Georgian Dream announced plans to merge GTU with TSU, the country’s two major and historic public universities, on January 29. The move sparked concerns among students and staff at both institutions, who feared the merger would undermine their identities, quality, and independence. Calls were made to reject the merger.
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- 05/02/2026 – Decision to Merge Georgia’s Two State Universities Hits Resistance From Students, Professors
- 04/02/2026 – Disputed Parliament Adopts Controversial Changes to Education Laws