Obstacles to Turkish Minority Education in Western Thrace continue

Since the quota teachers coming to Western Thrace from Türkiye do not have a work permit, classes are empty in many Turkish minority schools.

While the problems related to Turkish Minority education in Western Thrace are waiting for a solution, the policies of the administration, which does not take care of Minority schools, cause problems for the Turkish Minority.

Based on the bilateral agreements between Türkiye and Greece, teachers sent from Türkiye every year and working in minority schools in Western Thrace still have not started their education.

Although nearly two months have passed since the opening of the schools, the quota teachers have not yet been given a work permit by the Greek authorities. For this reason, Turkish lessons are not given in many classes in schools in Komotini and Xanthi.

Since the quota teachers are not allowed to work, empty class hours are met with reaction from the parents.

Many parents show their reactions in their social media posts.

"No one can be deprived of the right to education and training"

Koray Hasan, former president of the Komotini Turkish Youth Union, one of the parents of the Celal Bayar Minority Secondary-High School students in Komotini, shared the following statements on his social media account: “No one can be deprived of their right to education and training. The quota teachers in the Greek Western Thrace Minority schools are still not appointed, the lessons are empty, are our children punished?”

"Who will pay for the sins of these innocent children?"

On the other hand, one of the parents of the students at Xanthi Central Minority Primary School, Dr. Devrim Şukla also shared the following:

“We are all spinning a scam or we think we are spinning it, including me. But who turns the locker of the 5/B class, which hasn't had teachers since school opened? Who will pay for the sins of these innocent children who have not had an arithmetic or math, geometry or life science lesson despite the fact that November has been the month of the year since the beginning of the year, and the half-year holiday is coming in 6 weeks.?

It's my question; which authority is responsible to what extent, and whose conscience is comfortable with the deprivation of these children's lessons and teachers?

Or let me put it mildly, will the expected teachers of these children come, if so, when will they come?”