Western Thrace Turkish Teachers' Union (BTTÖB) publishes a message on the occasion of the new academic year
Western Thrace Turkish Teachers' Union (BTTÖB) published a message on the occasion of the new academic year. In its message, BTTÖB stated that "In recent years, our schools have been closed one by one on the pretext of lack of children, without taking into account the educational rights of the minority arising from the treaties and without any consultation with the members of the minority. This year we have lost nine more schools. We are obliged to act consciously in order to stop the closure of minority schools. This problem is a problem for all of us."
The message for the new academic year is as follows:
"Dear Students,
You are leaving behind another summer holiday and starting a new academic year. We wish the 2023-2024 academic year to be the best for you. You, who are our future, are our hope. The continuation of our culture and our minority's ability to reach a brighter and more modern future depends on the good education you will receive and the diligent work you will do.
In order to be successful, you have to learn both Turkish, your mother tongue, and Greek, the official language of our country, very well. Mastering these two languages will open many horizons for you and will bring you success in every field. You should prepare yourself better equipped as a member of our developing world. We would like you to know that we will always be proud and happy with your success. We want you to know that we are always with you and support you for a happier and more beautiful tomorrow. Dear students, we sincerely wish you a successful year.
Dear Teachers
You are greeting another new academic year. We entrust our precious children, who are our future, to you. We believe that you will endeavour for the education of our children with patience, perseverance, love and compassion. We expect you to raise the level and quality of the education you provide to our children and to raise modern generations who are knowledgeable and connected to our culture, national and spiritual values. We wish you a smooth and successful academic year.
Dear Parents
We believe that you, together with your children, will make great efforts during a new academic year. You will rejoice with their joys and grieve with their sorrows. We want you to know that your support is very important and very effective in the education of your children. It is possible for them to accept and love school and teachers with your support. We sincerely believe that you will not spare the same support for our children to love books and reading. When a child is educated in an environment where his/her own culture is lived and his/her mother tongue is respected, that child develops a personality based on solid psychological and social foundations. Self-confidence develops positively. In addition, for the survival of minority education and our minority, it is of great importance that you send your children to minority schools. In addition, you should never forget that you, the parents, are the owners of our schools and that you have the right to control our schools and the quality of education in our schools through the councillors you choose from among yourselves.
In recent years, our schools have been closed down one by one on the pretext of lack of children, without taking into account the minority's rights to education arising from the treaties and without any consultation with the members of the minority. This year we have lost nine more schools. We have to act consciously in order to stop the closure of minority schools. This problem is a problem for all of us. Let us be different from the 'fish in the sea who do not know the sea'. Every minority individual should think about this issue and a solution to this problem should be sought together. Otherwise, when our schools are exhausted, it will be a dream to talk about the minority to which we belong. We would like to underline once again that our primary goal is to raise generations who are loyal to our culture, national and spiritual values, and that this is only possible through minority schools. In this regard, we have to think well and make the right decisions. Because we must take into account that this decision will affect our child's entire life. With these feelings and thoughts, we wish you, the parents, a successful academic year with your children.
We also sincerely congratulate all of our students who have qualified to go to university this year. It is our greatest wish that you, our hope and our future, have a successful education. The way to be useful for yourself, your family and your minority is to work hard. We firmly believe that you will act with this awareness. We wish you success from the bottom of our hearts."
