For 10 years, Greek authorities closed 126 Turkish schools, the head of the Union of Minority Schools Ahmet Kara said, reports the Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah.
In an interview with Yeni afak Kar, said that the recent protest of the Westfracian Turks was directed against the policies of the authorities in the field of education. According to him, the community will continue to boycott schools if the Greek authorities continue to violate the rights of the Turks on education: “… Ten years ago we had 229 schools for minorities, and now there are 103 elementary schools and two secondary schools.”
Kara noted that the Greek authorities do not allow the Turks to open new schools, and the Greek teachers are often trying to manipulate Turkish parents and guardians, saying that their children should go to public schools. Also, Westfracian Turks also have claims to textbooks: “Textbooks for which they teach schools do not contain updated information, since the Greek government does not approve the content of updated textbooks sent by Turkey.”