ABTTF President: “Whilst, on the one hand, schools for the Turkish minority are being closed down one by one on grounds of low number of pupils, and, on the other hand, public schools in the same areas are expanding, this clearly highlights the consequences of our country’s policy towards the education of the Turkish minority. This is no longer simply a matter of individual schools closing down; it is a matter of the gradual weakening of the education system for the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace’’.
With the start of the 2026–2027 school year on 11 September 2026, the problems faced by the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace in the field of education have once again come to the fore.
Ahead of the 2026–2027 school year, the enrolment applications of some pupils belonging to the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace who wished to enrol at the 1st Turkish Minority Primary School in Xanthi were rejected. Most recently, the Directorate of Primary Education of Xanthi confirmed that seven pupils had not been enrolled, citing as reasons that the pupils did not reside within the school’s catchment area and allegations of irregularities in some of their residential details.
Meanwhile, the situation in Avato (Beyköy), a village in the prefecture of Xanthi, attracted attention. This is because, following a decision by the Greek Ministry of Education in July, the Beyköy Turkish Minority Primary School was closed for the 2026–2027 school year on grounds of low number of pupils. However, according to information provided by Evmorfia (Evi) Stylianidou, Director of the of the Directorate of Primary Education of Xanthi, in an interview with Thraki on 9 September 2026, the public primary school in the same village—namely Avato (Beyköy)—was upgraded from a three-teacher to a four-teacher status after the number of pupils exceeded 50.
With the suspension of operations at a further eight Turkish minority primary schools in July 2026, the number of Turkish primary schools operating in Western Thrace had fallen to 76. The closure of Turkish primary schools one by one, citing pupil numbers as the reason, violates the special and autonomous status of the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace in the field of education and is leading to the erosion of the Turkish minority school system.
Commenting on the latest developments, ABTTF President Halit Habip Oğlu stated the following: “The situation that has arisen in Avato (Beyköy) clearly lays bare the consequences of our country’s policy towards Turkish minority education. Whilst, on the one hand, Turkish schools are being closed down one by one on the pretext of a lack of pupils, on the other hand, the public school in the same location is expanding. Moreover, families face new obstacles when they wish to enrol their children in Turkish primary schools. This is no longer merely a matter of individual schools closing; it is a matter of the gradual dismantling of the education system of the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace. For the long-term aim is to eradicate the Turkish school system, just as has happened in Rhodes and Kos. Our country, Greece, must urgently abandon this policy, which is eroding our educational autonomy,” he said.
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