Educational problems of Western Thrace Turkish Minority maintain their importance on the agenda

Educational problems of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority maintain their importance as one of the main items on the agenda due to Greek authorities’ reluctance to solve long-lasting educational problems of the minorities.

Recently, the notice of motion given by Rodop MP Ahmet Haciosman and Iskece (Xanthi) MP Cetin Mandaci created discussion sat the Greek Parliament. Rodop MP Ahmet Haciosman asked Minister of Education, Evripidis Stilianidis, why the request of minorities for a bilingual kindergarten for minority children had not been taken into consideration and why teachers at minority kindergartens had to graduate from Greek universities. Upon the notice of motion submitted by Haciosman, Stilianidis said that “multicultural kindergartens” rather than bilingual ones would be established, yet such an answer created question marks among minority members.

Turkish youth’s admission to Iskece (Xanthi) Muzaffer Salihoğlu Minortiy High Schol is rejected…

Iskece (Xanthi) MP Cetin Mandacı submitted a notice of motion to the Minister of Education, asking about the situation of minority youth whose admission to Iskece Muzaffer Salihoglu Minority High School was not accepted intentionally. Minister said that law prohibited placing more than 30 students in a classroom, adding that necessary conditions to open an extra classroom were not satisfied.

Halit Habipoglu, chairman of Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe, made a statement regarding the answers of the Minister, saying that answers of the Minister displayed the desperate conditions of minority once again.

“The Minister says that the high school does not satisfy the necessary conditions to administer minority children. However, we say permanently that this high school is in an urgent need of reparation but the Greek government does not allow any reparation. What a great conflict it is that the Minister claims that the school does not satisfy conditions to open extra classroom. On the other hand, they express their intention to establish multicultural kindergartens. We know that the main motivation behind this is to separate our minority artificially. Additionally, they only employ teachers who graduate from Greek universities. I would like to ask in which democratic country such a condition is acceptable. The motive behind such a condition is to prevent minority youth who graduated from Turkish universities to teach at these minority kindergartens. I invite the authorities to take some concrete steps for improving minority education and solve the long-lasting problems on the agenda” said Habipoglu.