9 more Turkish minority schools are closing down in Western Thrace!

ABTTF President Halit Habip Oğlu: “This decision taken unilaterally by Greek authorities constitutes another blow to the educational autonomy of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace.”

Following the decision of the Head of Education at Eastern Macedonia and Thrace region of Greece Panayotis Keramaris, 9 more Turkish minority schools are closing down in Western Thrace. According to the daily Gündem, insufficient number of students was claimed as the reason behind the closures. The minority schools in Sendelli, Lefeciler, Durhasanlar, Dolapçılar and Susurköy villages of Rhodope; Zümbülmahalle, Zeynelli and Sadnovisa villages of Xanthi; and Kartunca village in Evros will cease to function. These schools closed down by the decision of the Head of Education at Eastern Macedonia and Thrace region will not serve during 2016-2017 school year and the minority students from these villages will have to go to the minority schools in neighbouring villages. With the last figures, the total number of primary schools closed down by Greek authorities since 2010 reached to 60.

Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) President Halit Habip Oğlu made the following statement on the issue: “This unilaterally-taken decision by the Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Regional Directory of Education constitutes another blow to the educational autonomy of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace. We see once more that our minority was in no way consulted before this decision, which has direct effects on the educational lives of our minority kids. As ABTTF, we fully support the announcement of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace Advisory Council on the legal and political steps that will be taken against this decision that jeopardises the educational rights of our minority. We also pledge to bring this issue on the table at international platforms.”