FROM THE EDITOR
Dr. Emzar Djgerenaia
Country of professors and philosophers
To tell you the truth I was going to speak on humorous things, for instance, about ice city, laser new year, the New Year jocundity of Georgian feasts and ? in short, about “super light” things, but alas, other thoughts come even on these Christmas days and make one think about something very serious. I remembered an anecdote: people of Guria decided to declare war on our close neighbor China. The whole Guria gathered and discussed strategy and tactics (they have a grudge against it since the battle of Port Arthur). Gurians arranged everything thinking that success was guaranteed, but suddenly Spiridon spoke up: “All right, we kill them and win, but where do we bury so many people?”. All right, suppose we implement the higher education reform according to which a 23-year old greenhorn (greenhorns are in fashion now) becomes a professor as soon as he completes magistracy. Then you might inquire about our present 70-year old professors? They will also be professors as well as 30-40 year old candidatures of science. God bless you, we should overtake progressive developed countries at least in something.
At the same time, the doctors who have never heard of Kant will become philosophers (of course, I mean his hefty works; God forbid to see Kant in person. One can wish it to abusers of our economy). Hence, all of us will be professors and philosophers. Professorship will lose its value. What is bad in it? Nothing, the whole civilized world lives in the same way, but the name of the degree will be long and difficult. For instance, associate professor of Feast faculty in Shukri Turmanidze (all Universities and Institutes in our country bear somebody’s name) Keda-Khuloshuakhevi Special University Tedo Zhorzholiani. How can one remember such a long name, yet you might have troubles if you make a mistake in it. All holders of master’s degree and assistant professors will receive a good present for New Year: they will soon become professors if they arrange a deal in dean’s office. There is more autonomy and freedom, what else do we need? Do you want to become a professor? You can become one. But what should we do with so many professors?
We encourage people to become professors, and at the same time we unjustly grant them scientific degrees. For instance, if one defended thesis in 1937 or 1963 (my birth date) about the peculiarities of socialist competition and economic effect on well-being of middle-aged population of mountainous Khulo region or the well-known doctoral thesis on economic problems relating to the early weeding of tea plantations in the mountainous Sachkheri region in 1967-72 (the years are correct. Later in Shevarnadze’s time there started distortion of results they stopped weeding tea plantations at all so this important problem lost its actuality), then according to the new law he would be a doctor along with the one who defended Ph. D. thesis in October 2004 on actual modern subject! Is it just? And what if former doctors will not be new doctors of philosophy, where should new doctors defend their thesis. In this case, it turns out that Georgia will remain without doctors. Thus, to sum up, Georgia will become a country of philosophers and professors and according to this indicator we, starting from 2005, leave behind such developed countries as Korea and Japan. Why not ? it is Georgian spirit: – to wish either everything or nothing. And if we used to be a God Mother’s country, now we turn into a country of professors. How can one remember so many regalia and besides what shall we do with so many professors? By the way, if there is a great deal of vacancies, why not make candidatures doctors? Boom is a boom. If it is not so, they will go on hunger-strike (hunger will be useful for some people, while many have been starving for 15 years all the same). If we consider the state of our economy and budget, the salary will still remain at the level of 50 laris and in Georgia where the art of swearing and cursing reached its climax, a new variant will appear: cursing will sound like this ? let your son-in-law be a professor or let you be a professor, etc.
But still everything turned out the way I wanted. I wish you, children of professor country, merry Christmas. God help you to avoid a hard fate of a professor in 2005.