The unbearable life of ethnic Georgians in the occupied territories, where people struggle for survival, creates a real danger of emptying these regions of Georgians. Absence of a feeling of physical and economic security, discrimination on the ground of ethnicity, systemic corruption, the Georgian language being purposefully and consistently expelled from everyday existence and education, represent an incomplete list of the elements of daily life of ethnic Georgians.

The occupied Akhalgori district is no exception. In the absence of official data, according to local population estimates, 90 percent of the population has left the district after the 2008 war. The fact that Akhalgori has practically been emptied of its population can be seen in the number of existing educational institutions and the quality of education.

Of the six schools operating in the occupied Akhalgori district (Ikoti, Boli, Korinta and Balaani), two - Korinta and Boli schools - will be closed from September 2024. The official reason is the absence of students. Both schools are 9-grade institutions. The Boli school is a branch of the Akhalgori school, and the Korinta school is a branch of the Ikoti village school. The Boli school is located about 1.5 kilometers away from the township, and in order to keep it operating, the children of the teachers employed in school used to go there from the township. They have already finished 9 grades.   

Beyond the official reason for the absence of students, the unbearable existence of students of general educational institutions and their families are behind the closure of schools in occupied Akhalgori. If until 2017, studies in Akhalgori schools were conducted in the Georgian language, using the Georgian curriculum, from September 2017, the education language has been completely replaced by Russian. This year's graduating class in Akhalgori was the last to receive education in the Georgian language. The Democracy Research Institute has previously written that the transition to the Russian language seriously worsened the quality of education in Akhalgori. It is difficult for students to learn in Russian and for teachers to teach subjects in Russian.

The vast majority of teachers are ethnically Georgian and have received their education in the Georgian language. The de facto security service of Tskhinvali may use this circumstance to dismiss ethnically Georgian and disloyal teachers from Akhalgori schools. For example, the local population does not believe in the lack of knowledge of the Russian language named as the reason for the dismissal of one of the teachers of one of Akhalgori's schools. The reason for the dismissal does not seem convincing in the background that the teacher had been teaching a subject in Russian before as well and that a person close to KGB is likely to replace him.

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Taking away the right to receive education in one's mother tongue violates the right to quality education and access to education. According to the case law established by the European Court of Human Rights, despite the fact that Georgia cannot exercise effective control over the occupied Tskhinvali region, the State of Georgia is obliged to activate political, legal and diplomatic efforts to ensure that the population of Akhalgori district receives education in their native language.