Students and their parents held a protest in Tbilisi due to the threat of cancellation of classes at the school.

Parents and students of Tbilisi's Ilya Vekua Physics and Mathematics School No. 42 demanded from the authorities during a protest to allocate a safe space for classes in the first shift, after it became known about the possible closure of the emergency building of the school. Officials promised that classes would continue in the old building with enhanced security measures.

According to the participants of the protest, which took place today near the building of Tbilisi's Ilya Vekua Physics and Mathematics School No. 42, the authorities must expedite the search for a safe space where children can continue in-person learning in the first shift. Parents and students came out to protest after their families were informed that classes in the school building could cease from November 9 due to its emergency condition.

"We ask for another space where our children can study in normal conditions. No other shift, no other school," said protest participant Tamar Babunadze, whose words were reported today by the Interpressnews agency.

According to her, by the start of the protest, parents still did not know if their children would be able to come to school on Monday. While the protest was ongoing, some parents and teachers met with the administration, noted the Tbilisi Life telegram channel today.

After the meeting, one of the mothers, Mari Gabedava, reported that classes would continue in the school building from November 9 with enhanced security measures. According to her, several classrooms will be closed, and administrative premises will be used for lessons. The expert bureau was asked to conduct an additional inspection of the building. The building of the Georgian Technical University, which is being renovated for the school, will be ready to accept students in September 2027.

The reason for the protest was a message that parents received from class teachers on November 5. They were told that starting Monday, November 9, classes in the school building would cease: specialists recognized it as emergency. However, by the start of the protest, families had not been informed where, when, and in what format children could continue their studies. Parents demanded that a separate safe space be allocated for the school so that students would not have to transfer to other schools or study in the second shift, explained the Netgazeti publication.

Parents had already protested at the school on November 6. At that time, they demanded that if the children had to move, they should continue studying in the first shift and opposed distance learning. The meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Education that day ended without a decision on where classes would take place, the publication stated.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that in Georgia, parents of schoolchildren had repeatedly protested when, after the closure of school buildings, children had to study in other schools. For example, on March 1, 2024, parents of students from School No. 4 in Samtredia protested, demanding the construction of a new building to replace the one demolished four years earlier. According to the participants of the protest, children had to travel to the other end of the city and study in the second shift all this time.

On September 19, 2020, parents and teachers of Tbilisi School No. 10 also protested, demanding the start of repairs on the building and a timeline for its completion. The school was recognized as emergency back in 2019, and students were temporarily transferred to School No. 22. A year later, repairs had still not begun.