Before the elections, students are asked to provide their parents' data, including personal identification numbers, at schools. This was announced by the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili. The Ministry of Education accuses her of spreading disinformation.
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Today, October 14, the president posted a photo of the questionnaire on her personal Facebook page and wrote:
"If schools ask children for such data, it is a violation of personal data! A kid should not provide their parents' personal number! It is important to identify these schools."
The Ministry of Education, Science, and Youth responded to the president's Facebook post, calling the information a lie, "as if personal data of children is being collected in schools for specific purposes." The Ministry's statement clarifies that student data, including information about parents or legal representatives, is reflected in the education management information system.
"Schools periodically update the data in the system, including the parent/legal representative's contact phone number, email address, and residential address. This is done to ensure quick and easy communication with the parent/legal representative when necessary," the Ministry's statement notes, not mentioning any request for parents' personal numbers from students.
The Ministry emphasizes that data collection, storage, processing, analysis, and administration are carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Georgian Law On Personal Data Protection.
"We call on specific individuals to refrain from spreading disinformation that deliberately misleads the public," the Ministry of Education stated.
The Prime Minister also responded to Salome Zourabichvili. Irakli Kobakhidze criticized the president's competence, referring to her as a "member of the collective National Movement" and said, "What Salome Zourabichvili published is a standard questionnaire filled out by students in any country. If you are unaware of personal data regulations or how to complete a student's application form, that is a serious problem. However, these individuals are not required to be competent."
