Greek Cypriot children in the occupied areas missed the beginning of the new primary school year yesterday because their teachers had yet to be “approved” by the Turkish Cypriot authorities.
Teachers from the Republic were prevented from entering northern Cyprus while the delivery of text books was also blocked.
A list of the teachers’ names had been given to the Turkish Cypriot ‘authorities’ two-and-a-half months ago, said Dimitris Mikellidis, the president of the primary school teachers union. The north had offered no explanation for blocking the entry of the teachers and books to schools in the Rizokarpaso area, he added.
“We can only suspect that they are not satisfied with the details we provided them and (they) plan to scrutinise the entire family tree of each staff member,” Mikellidis said.
Diplomats will hope the spat can be resolved swiftly in case it sours the atmosphere following Wednesday’s ceremonial opening of fully-fledged talks to re-unite the island.
Andreas Demetriou, the Minister of Education, urged the Turkish Cypriot authorities to address the situation immediately. “Representations are being made and I hope they will respond quickly. I hope we see moves of good will, like the ones we make,” Demetriou said.
He spoke during a visit to an elementary school in Limassol where Greek and Turkish Cypriot pupils sang songs together in Greek and Turkish. Demetriou said he visited that particular school because it sent a strong political message that the education system can promote peace and reconciliation. The school also has pupils from other countries.
“We want to have schools where everyone can be proud of their background, but at the same time be able to co-exist, respect, cooperate, learn and work with all the other communities of Cyprus,” Demetriou said.
Apart from the setback in the Rizokarpaso area, there was an overall successful start to the new school year, Alekos Kourados, the head of the ministry of primary education, said. An estimated 51,000 pupils returned to their desks after the long summer break.
Kourados said similar problems had occurred in the north in previous years. “The teachers for the school year have been appointed and are ready to begin,” said Kourados. “We do not know the exact reason for the delay, but hope that a solution can be worked out as soon as possible so that teaching at the Rizokarpaso schools can resume”.
The ministry of education was working closely with the United Nations to get the children back to school as soon as possible, Mikellidis said.
The preliminary student register for the Rizokarpaso primary school listed 19 students and 3 teachers. Listed for the nursery department were 6 children, one teacher and one teaching assistant. There is no Greek Cypriot secondary school in the region.
