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ARMENIAN, GREEK EDUCATORS ASK TURKEY FOR NEW LEGISLATION
epress.am
04.04.2012
A series of amendments to regulations concerning private schools that
were partly designed to ease problems for minority schools have instead
made their predicament more complicated, according to representatives
from the educational institutions, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.
"We are not private schools. We are not receiving any payments
from students who attend our schools. We do not bear the status of a
'kolej' [private school]. We had requested a separate law for minority
schools," Garo Paylan, an administrator from the YeÅ~_ilköy Armenian
School in Istanbul, recently told the Hurriyet.
Regulations concerning private schools in Turkey and the 1923 Treaty
of Lausanne allow only Turkish citizens to attend minority schools. A
clause stipulating that only the children of Turkish citizens can
attend their own minority community's schools, however, was scrapped
in new regulations that appeared in the Official Gazette on March 20,
leading to perplexity among many educators.
The children of illegal Armenian immigrants still continue attending
schools under the status of "guest students," Paylan said, adding
that nothing had changed thus far.
Some 15,000 Armenian citizens are currently residing in Turkey
as illegal immigrants, according to data from the Armenian Foreign
Ministry. Their children cannot attend minority schools in Turkey both
due to their illegal status and the terms of the Treaty of Lausanne.
They were granted the status of "guest students" two years ago, meaning
they are permitted to attend the minority schools but cannot receive
any diplomas or officially enroll at the education institutions.
Students from Armenia cannot attend Rum (Anatolian Greek) schools
in Istanbul because they are illegal immigrants, and the children
of Greek citizens cannot attend them because they are not Turkish
citizens, Mihail Vasiliadis, the chief editor of Greek-language daily
Apoyevmatini, told the Daily News.
"The right to education is enshrined in international treaties.
Children's rights are universal. They ought to be under the protection
of states whether they are illegal immigrants or citizens," Vasiliadis
said.
epress.am
04.04.2012
A series of amendments to regulations concerning private schools that
were partly designed to ease problems for minority schools have instead
made their predicament more complicated, according to representatives
from the educational institutions, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.
"We are not private schools. We are not receiving any payments
from students who attend our schools. We do not bear the status of a
'kolej' [private school]. We had requested a separate law for minority
schools," Garo Paylan, an administrator from the YeÅ~_ilköy Armenian
School in Istanbul, recently told the Hurriyet.
Regulations concerning private schools in Turkey and the 1923 Treaty
of Lausanne allow only Turkish citizens to attend minority schools. A
clause stipulating that only the children of Turkish citizens can
attend their own minority community's schools, however, was scrapped
in new regulations that appeared in the Official Gazette on March 20,
leading to perplexity among many educators.
The children of illegal Armenian immigrants still continue attending
schools under the status of "guest students," Paylan said, adding
that nothing had changed thus far.
Some 15,000 Armenian citizens are currently residing in Turkey
as illegal immigrants, according to data from the Armenian Foreign
Ministry. Their children cannot attend minority schools in Turkey both
due to their illegal status and the terms of the Treaty of Lausanne.
They were granted the status of "guest students" two years ago, meaning
they are permitted to attend the minority schools but cannot receive
any diplomas or officially enroll at the education institutions.
Students from Armenia cannot attend Rum (Anatolian Greek) schools
in Istanbul because they are illegal immigrants, and the children
of Greek citizens cannot attend them because they are not Turkish
citizens, Mihail Vasiliadis, the chief editor of Greek-language daily
Apoyevmatini, told the Daily News.
"The right to education is enshrined in international treaties.
Children's rights are universal. They ought to be under the protection
of states whether they are illegal immigrants or citizens," Vasiliadis
said.