Discussion of changes to the education system in analytical programs of the Georgian Public Broadcaster

Abstract

A fundamental change in the education system is underway in Georgia. The current government presented the document "National Concept of Education Reform" in October 2025. The education system is the foundation of a state's development, which determines the future of the country, therefore, changes to be implemented in this system should be based on research, which should be carried out with the involvement of specialists, experts in the field, as well as students and pupils, lecturers and teachers, parents, and interested citizens. The media, especially the Public Broadcaster, should ensure that the general public is informed, because the prerequisite for the proper functioning of any system in the state is an informed public. According to the document on program priorities of the LEPL "Public Broadcaster" for 2022-2025, the Public Broadcaster must ensure "timely and comprehensive information of the audience about important events taking place in Georgia, its regions and the world" and "reflect the pluralism of opinions existing in society." These obligations must be fulfilled even more strictly at a time when the state is undergoing fundamental changes in the education system. The goal of our research is to study the analytical programs of the Georgian Public Broadcaster: "Topic of the Day" and "Discussion on a Current Topic". The study covers the period from October 16, 2025 (date of presentation of the "Education Reform") to April 6, 2026, because it was on this day that registration for the Unified National Exams began. It is interesting to see to what extent the Public Broadcaster was able to comprehensively inform the public about the ongoing changes in the education system. The research is based on qualitative methodology and uses the case study method. Thus, the two analytical programs mentioned above are considered as cases, the detailed analysis of which will allow us to study broader trends in the analytical policy of the Public Broadcaster. Qualitative content analysis was used within the framework of the research, which in this case does not imply a quantitative count of the text, but rather its goal is to analyze content, specifically what arguments and assessments are presented in the programs, how the discussion framework is formed, and what main narratives are highlighted. The following were defined as units of analysis: Questions and texts of the hosts; Positions and arguments of the guests; Recurring issues. The analysis was carried out using the principle of purposeful selection and included only those programs and episodes of programs where fundamental changes in the education system were discussed. Coding was carried out using the inductive principle. Issues and narratives were identified during the monitoring process of the research object itself. Special attention was paid to the development of dialogue between the hosts and guests of the programs. The statuses of the guests and the role of the hosts in strengthening specific interpretations were assessed. According to the description, “Topic of the Day” airs on Georgian Channel One every Wednesday at 22:00, immediately after the main broadcast of “Moambe”. Host Tamta Sanikidze discusses the topic of the day with guests. The viewer will have the opportunity to receive additional and comprehensive information about the main topic of the day; learn more about important events; hear the arguments and assessments of the parties. The goal of the program is to provide the viewer with answers to all important questions in society, while “Discussion on a Current Topic” airs every Tuesday at 22:00; host – Maka Tsintsadze; Join the discussion, where the truth is born, where public opinion is formed and dialogue begins; different parties listen to each other, argue and together seek a solution. The meeting place – the Discussion and Dialogue Studio. The study period includes 15 programs of "Topic of the Day", It is noteworthy that in January and February, only one program was broadcast, this was one of the acute episodes in the stage of implementing changes in the education system, because on January 29, the Minister of Education, Science and Youth of Georgia Givi Mikanadze announced that a decision had been made to merge Tbilisi State University and the Georgian Technical University, which led to resistance at both universities, which ended with a briefing by the Prime Minister on February 9, where he stated that the two state universities, Ivane Javakhishvili State University and the Technical University, would no longer merge. At such an important stage, when the public needs multifaceted information, the program “Discussion on a Current Topic” was not broadcast at all, despite the fact that out of 29 programs during the study period, 3 programs were broadcast in January, and only one in February. As part of the research, we selected only 2 interviews out of 29 programs of the program "Discussion on a Current Topic" for analysis, because only these 2 programs discussed the announced fundamental changes in the education system. It is noteworthy that the guest of both programs was Givi Mikanadze, the Minister of Education, Science and Youth of Georgia. As for the program "Topic of the Day", none of the 15 programs discussed the fundamental changes in the education system. The analysis of the interviews selected within the framework of the study revealed that the host's questions often contain pre-defined assessments, hypotheses or generalizations, which create a framework for interpreting the guest's answers. In addition, the monitoring revealed that both analytical television programs of the Georgian Public Broadcaster fail to ensure the fulfillment of the conditions set by the "Document of Program Priorities", namely, on the one hand, the presentation of multilateral views, and on the other hand, in-depth informing of the public about the fundamental changes taking place in the country.