Zeybek: Minority students deprived of rights under the pretext of “sibling” clause
Member of Parliament Hüseyin Zeybek of New Left (Nea Aristera) representing İskeçe, has brought to Parliament the issue of minority university students being denied the right to transfer between universities (“horizontal transfer”) under the pretext of belonging to a “special category.”
In his written question addressed to the Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Zeybek recalled that Law 4332/2015, introduced by the SYRIZA government, granted students the right to transfer if siblings from the same family were studying in different cities—an effort to ease families’ financial burdens.
However, he pointed out that Law 4692/2020 later excluded students admitted under “special categories” from exercising this right, effectively denying minority students, who are Greek citizens, equal access to social rights.
Zeybek stressed that this exclusion violates the constitutional principle of equal treatment, disproportionately impacts low-income minority families, and undermines equal opportunities in education.
He posed the following questions to the minister:
- What is the rationale behind denying minority university students the right to horizontal transfer when they have siblings studying in other cities?
- Does the Ministry plan to take legislative or administrative action to correct this injustice and ensure that all Greek citizens enjoy this right without discrimination?
- Will the Ministry consider increasing the transfer quota for the “special category” and alleviating the financial burden on families with more than one child attending university?
Editor’s Note
The Millet newspaper observes that such restrictions targeting students of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace undermine the principle of equal citizenship. By introducing limitations under the guise of a “special category,” the policy effectively erodes equal opportunities in higher education for minority youth. The right to education must be applied equally to all citizens, regardless of ethnic or social background.
