"Children are prevented from learning their mother tongue Turkish in pre-school education"
In the message published by ABTTF, President Habipoğlu stated: "In our country Greece, our demand for kindergarten has been ignored for years and children belonging to our community are prevented from learning their mother tongue Turkish in pre-school education."
The General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) declared 21 February as World Mother Language Day in 1999. World Mother Language Day has been celebrated every year on 21 February since 2000 with various activities to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism around the world. The theme of this year's World Mother Language Day is "Multilingual education - a pillar of intergenerational learning".
Underlining that multilingual and multicultural societies exist through their languages, which sustainably transmit and preserve traditional knowledge and cultures, UNESCO pointed out that linguistic diversity is increasingly under threat as more and more languages are disappearing.
Noting that 250 million children and young people in the world today are still out of school and 763 million adults lack basic literacy skills, UNESCO underlines that mother tongue education supports learning, literacy and additional language acquisition. Emphasising the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable societies, UNESCO notes that linguistic diversity is increasingly under threat as more and more languages disappear.
UNESCO emphasises the importance of multilingual education, especially in pre-school education, and the implementation of multilingual education policies and practices, and calls for inclusive and quality education and lifelong learning for all.
Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), said: "Education in one's mother tongue is one of the most fundamental human rights. As underlined by UNESCO, it is of great importance for children to learn their mother tongue, especially in pre-school education, in order for them to be successful in their subsequent school education and to preserve their identity and culture and pass them on to future generations. However, in our country Greece, our request for kindergarten has been ignored for years and children belonging to our community are prevented from learning their mother tongue Turkish in pre-school education. While there are 141 public kindergartens in Rhodope province, where we constitute the majority of the population, and in Xanthi province, where we constitute approximately 45% of the population, there is not even a single Turkish minority kindergarten. Our children, who are forced to attend these state schools where the language of instruction is only Greek, are deprived of learning their mother tongue Turkish. Again, in violation of our educational autonomy, our bilingual primary schools with autonomous status are being closed down. While in 2003 we had 226 primary schools in our region, today we have only 90 primary schools as a result of closures. We reiterate our demand for bilingual minority kindergartens once again and celebrate 21 February World Mother Language Day for our community and everyone."
