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Another blow to the educational autonomy of the Turkish community in Western Thrace!

06.09.2024

ABTTF President: “The new principal appointments made by bypassing the boards in our two schools are the latest example of the violation of our educational autonomy through various laws and arbitrary practices for years’’.

New school principals were appointed to Xanthi Turkish Minority Secondary and High School and Komotini Celal Bayar Turkish Minority Secondary and High School belonging to the Turkish community in Western Thrace living in Greece by unilateral decision without consulting the board members of these schools.

In its decision dated 2 September 2024, the Regional Directorate of Education of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace amended the previous practice and removed the article stipulating that the opinion of the board members elected by the votes of the parents of the students belonging to the Turkish community should be taken into account and appointed new principals to two schools.

In a joint statement issued on 4 September 2024, the board members of the Xanthi Turkish Minority Secondary and High School and Komotini Celal Bayar Turkish Minority Secondary and High School underlined that the appointments made in violation of the powers exercised by the board members are contrary to the international and bilateral agreements concerning the education of the Turkish community, international law and the customs that have been applied until today, and underlined that such interference in the education of the Turkish community and the functioning of the schools will create new issues.

“We absolutely do not accept this unilateral decision of the Regional Directorate of Education of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace in violation of our educational autonomy guaranteed by treaties. The appointment of new principals in our two schools, bypassing the boards, is the latest example of the violation of our educational autonomy through various laws and arbitrary practices for years. Our country is consciously and systematically preventing our community from having a say in its own schools. As ABTTF, we demand the immediate revocation of this decision and call on the competent authorities of our country to immediately put an end to arbitrary practices that violate our educational autonomy’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF). 

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