Despite having ten pupils, Minority School in İskeçe remains closed

On September 13, journalist Manolis Kostidis published an article in Kathimerini titled “Steps Towards the Modernization of Greek Diaspora Schools,” describing positive developments in minority schools in Istanbul and Imbros, which today host around 300 students. The report expressed gratitude toward the Turkish authorities while offering a hopeful outlook for the future.

However, in its final section, the article referred to the case of the minority primary school in the village of Mizanlı, İskeçe, where, despite reaching the minimum required number of ten pupils, the school has not been allowed to reopen. The application submitted by parents was rejected by the local Directorate of Primary Education.

This situation highlights broader tensions within minority education in Greece. Although the Treaty of Lausanne and subsequent educational protocols between Greece and Türkiye safeguard the operation of such schools, practices on the ground often diverge.

For example, the establishment of bilingual kindergartens (in Greek and Turkish) — consistent with the spirit of the Treaty — has not been accepted. A pilot program under the SYRIZA government introduced bilingual teaching assistants, but this was discontinued under the current New Democracy administration. Meanwhile, minority schools with fewer than nine pupils are closed, and even when pupil numbers rise again, reopening requests are typically rejected for what critics call “purely bureaucratic” reasons.

Currently, only 83 minority schools remain open in Thrace, down from 300 in previous decades. Of these, two are secondary schools (one in İskeçe, one in Gümülcine), alongside two religious seminaries, with the rest being primary schools. Teachers’ requests for professional training in the Turkish language are regularly denied, while elected school boards — traditionally managing minority schools — have seen their powers increasingly curtailed, with some members even barred from entering school premises.

By contrast, the Greek minority in Istanbul has witnessed signs of renewal in its educational institutions. The juxtaposition raises an inevitable question: why such starkly different approaches on either side of the border?

In response, New Left MP Hüseyin Zeybek submitted a parliamentary question demanding the immediate reopening of the minority primary school in Mizanlı. He argued it is “inconceivable” that, while Greece faces widespread school closures due to declining pupil numbers, the authorities in İskeçe have refused to reopen a school where parents formally requested it last February and ten children are ready to enroll.

Zeybek asked the Education Minister:

“What immediate steps will the Ministry take to overturn this unjust decision and allow the minority primary school in Mizanlı, İskeçe, to reopen without delay?”

epohi.gr