On November 12, 2012, students of the Georgian Technical University began a protest that continued with the setting up of tents in front of the university. On the night of November 13, they stayed in the tents outside the administration building. The tents displayed slogans such as “We deserve better education,” “Use the budget for students,” “No more lies!” “University without abusers!” “We demand early student government elections!” and “Resign, Rector!”

The protest was organized by the Independent Students’ Association and joined by members of the “Solidarity” organization as well as university alumni. The protesters demanded early student government elections, the rector’s resignation, and the dismissal of those involved in the October 26, 2011 incident, when students demanding improved study conditions were forcibly removed from the rector’s office, loaded into cars, and driven outside the city. The students had previously declared a hunger strike in the rector’s reception area.

According to Alexander (Lekso) Kobaidze, head of the Independent Students’ Association, after being removed from the university, he and three other students were taken by minibus to the village of Dzegvi, had their phones confiscated, and were left there. Kobaidze claimed that one of the perpetrators was Boris Gitolendia, the head of the university’s Department of Sports, Culture, and Alumni Relations, who was accompanied by three others. The abducted students informed the Prosecutor’s Office about the incident. Gitolendia denied the accusations, claiming he had not forcibly taken anyone anywhere.

The university’s rector, Archil Frangishvili, said he was awaiting the Prosecutor’s Office’s response. Through his representative, he stated that there was ample evidence proving no one had been forcibly removed from his office.

Beyond demanding the resignation of specific individuals, the students called for improvements in the quality of education and protested the misallocation of financial resources. They argued that most of the university’s budget was being spent on staff salaries and bonuses rather than on academic needs.

The students also criticized the lack of priorities, absence of a development plan, poor infrastructure, and opaque budgeting. These demands were voiced on November 13 in front of the university’s main administration building, where a small group of students gathered.

According to the protesters, they had been raising their concerns for some time but chose this form of protest after the political change in the country, hoping that the newly elected Georgian Dream government would prompt the Ministry of Education and Science to address the university’s problems.

Rector Archil Frangishvili, however, denied the students’ claims, saying their examples of poor educational quality were completely false. “We have infrastructure, the learning process is ongoing, and besides these protesting students, there are 17,000 others who believe everything is fine,” he stated. His view was supported by representatives of the student self-government.