According to the datum of 1913 and 1914, there were 2596 schools of minorities in Anatolia; 1245 Greek, 1084 Armenian and 131 Jewish.
Today, there are 24 schools of minorities; 16 Armenian, 6 Greek, 1 Jewish and 1 Syriac.
23 of these schools are located in Istanbul, another one, a Greek school is located in the island of Gökçeada in Çanakkale province of Marmara Region, Turkey and was opened in 2013. Syriac Kindergarten Özel Mor Efrem was opened in 2014. Syriac people have obtained mother tongue-based education after 86 years.
Schools of minorities are still admitted as “private schools” in 2015-2016 school year.
Ancestry Code Practice
According to the law, “schools of minorities accept the children of citizens of Republic of Turkey who are connected to their own minority. So, a member of minority should evidence his/her minority with a document of baptism. Islamized minorities can’t be enrolled in these schools.
Problems continue
Even though ancestry code practice is over, problems continue.
Ministry of National Education (MEB) keeps giving the students of schools of minorities’ scholarship this year.
However, some students couldn’t be financially aided since they weren’t in the provincial quota. The same situation occurred last year; minority students were exempted from the quota and the problem was set straight. (YY/BD)
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