A sweeping reform of general and higher education was unveiled in early 2026. Among other things, it risks depriving 25,000 students of access to higher education while exacerbating the financial difficulties of families in precarious situations.

One particularly controversial measure concerns the abolition of the 12th grade. Education will end after the 11th grade. This is a break with European conventions, where twelve years of schooling are required to enter university. The abolition of the final year will make it very difficult for Georgian students to be admitted to European universities.

Another effect of this law is that instead of 25,000 candidates, nearly 40,000 students would take the unified exams in 2027, which would significantly reduce their chances of admission to higher education. Faced with protests, the authorities seem willing to relax the law, but without convincing a civil society that has no confidence in a government that, on other issues, has not hesitated to lie to achieve its ends.

The law also includes the elimination of public subsidies to private universities. Nearly 7,000 students would then no longer be able to afford their studies (tuition fees at private universities range from 3,000 to 6,000 GEL).

Finally, the new “one faculty per city” rule limits university autonomy, restricts students’ freedom of choice, and may lead to costly relocations. Furthermore, as students can only choose one university, those with poor results have no second chance and are excluded from higher education.

OSCE observers, civil society representatives, and opposition parties warn that such changes will force thousands of students to leave school and significantly weaken Georgia’s alignment with European standards. But isn’t that the goal?