President Tassoulas visits school with only one student
According to AMNA, the island’s sole student, 10-year-old Savvas, will continue his education this year as the only pupil in the fifth grade. Together with his teacher, Despina Mihail, Savvas welcomed the President and introduced him to the small but specially built school.
In his remarks, President Tassoulas underlined the state’s constitutional, moral, and historical responsibility to provide free education even in the most remote regions of the country. He emphasized the importance of safeguarding the rights of citizens, particularly those living on islands and border areas.
Last year, a similar case was noted in Argyri village in Karditsa, where a school was opened for a single student. This year, an elementary school on Kastellorizo’s Keçi Island reopened to serve just two pupils.
Minority’s Perspective
While the state celebrates the operation of schools with one or two pupils, members of the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace point to what they call a double standard.
As of 2025, the number of minority primary schools has dropped from 210 to just 83, officially attributed to “low student numbers.”
At a protest and press conference held on September 11 in Mizanli, İskeçe, community representatives recalled official assurances that schools were not being “closed” but merely “suspended,” and that they would reopen if student numbers rose above nine.
“On the one hand, schools are opened for one or two students — and rightly so, with politicians taking pride in it. On the other hand, minority schools are being shut down one after another, even when the required student numbers are met,” the statement said.
The Western Thrace Turkish Teachers’ Union (BTTÖB) echoed these concerns, declaring:
“Closing minority schools under the pretext of economic savings or low enrollment, without regard for their special status, violates the Lausanne Treaty. Authorities have never engaged with the minority; decisions are unilateral and lack sincerity.”
Community members stressed that in Mizanli, there are 10 students — exceeding the minimum requirement of nine — yet the local Turkish minority school remains closed.
They called on the authorities to fulfill their promises, accusing them of abusing their mandate, violating the law, and failing to respect minority rights.
Referring to President Tassoulas’s own words, minority representatives urged the state to apply the same constitutional and moral responsibility to the schools of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace.
C.K.
