On December 23, 2016, all twelfth-grade Muslim girls at Mokhe Public School in Adigeni District attended school wearing headscarves. They did so to show solidarity with their classmate, Teona Beridze, who, according to the students, had been asked by the school principal, Natia Rekhviashvili, to remove her headscarf. Teona had previously studied for one semester at Batumi Public School No. 27 and was returning to Mokhe through a mobility process.

“All her documents were in order for the transfer, but the Mokhe Public School principal refused to approve it, saying that wearing a headscarf was not allowed in the educational institution. The principal told her that if she wanted to be accepted, she had to take off her headscarf, to which Teona refused,” said her classmates.

Later, it was revealed that the principal had accepted the student, and she was attending classes, but her peers said this was not enough.

On December 26, Muslim students at Mokhe School boycotted classes in protest, demanding an investigation by the Ministry of Education and the resignation of the principal. The principal denied accusations of discriminatory treatment.

About 70 students stood in the schoolyard holding signs reading: “Our rights” and “We stand in solidarity with Teona Beridze.” They accused the principal of religious discrimination.

On January 18, 2017, the Audit Office launched an inquiry into the alleged discrimination. On February 27, the Ministry of Education and Science’s Internal Audit Department announced that its investigation found no evidence of discrimination or violation of Teona Beridze’s rights at Mokhe Public School.