Declaration of National Curriculum and Assessment Center of Georgia

This letter is intended to those for whom education is the means of achieving peace and prosperity in the whole world and in your countries in particular.

We, a group of education specialists have been conducting the substantial education reform in Georgia. We have introduced new curriculum, textbooks and have been teaching our fellow citizens that there should be tolerance towards all ethnic, religious or other minorities in Georgia. We have been introducing the democratic governance in all schools of Georgia including the election of the principles, school boards, introducing the democratic budgeting and human resource management procedures. We have been collaborating with the world renown education specialists in order to create the modern and human system here in our country.

All this and what is more important, the lives of our citizens and in particular, schoolchildren is in danger. The Russian Troops are bombing our cities, killing civilians, destroying the infrastructure. The Russian backed Ossetians and Abkhazians are killing the innocent civilians in the villages left without the support. Children have been displaced in thousands from their homes, desperately looking for their parents and relatives. All this is happening, because Russia has to show to the word that they are the ones who are the real masters of the tiny country called Georgia, and not its people who love their freedom to create their own destiny.

On 8.8.2008 Russians have started the full scale war in Georgia and are expanding their forces and the area of the military intervention every day. Every day they are advancing in different parts of Georgia with their troops, tanks and warplanes occupying settlements an cynically dictating their demands. Yesterday evening we were waiting for their advance on Tbilisi. Today is yet another unfortunate day of the war!

We urge the whole world to help us to stop by all possible means this unprecedented aggression that we are experiencing at the moment before more lives are lost. Send the petitions to your governments, organize protest campaigns, write about your experiences in the news. Protecting us you will be ultimately protecting the humanity in the world. Russia has to be contained once again!

Simon Janashia

Director of National Curriculum and Assessment Center

Tbilisi, Georgia 12.08.08