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ARMENIAN IMMIGRANT CHILDREN TO BE ALLOWED IN MINORITY SCHOOLS
Today's Zaman
Sept 2 2011
Turkey
Families from Armenia who reside in Turkey as illegal aliens will be
able to send their children to schools run by the Turkish Armenian
Patriarchate thanks to a two-year battle fought by Deputy Patriarch
Aram AteÅ~_yan.
News reports on Friday said Education Minister Omer Dincer had
given his permission to allow Armenian children residing in Turkey
as irregular immigrants to unofficially attend classes in Armenian
schools in the next school year. This comes shortly after Turkey
announced it would return all property confiscated from religious
minority foundations and associations during the early republican era.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also approved the decision to
let children from Armenia attend the schools as guest students.
"The ministry has given the necessary permission and we are very happy
about this," Deputy Patriarch AteÅ~_yan stated. He said the children
will be enrolled as guest students, meaning they will be exempt from
class examinations and will not be able to receive a diploma. "But
we plan to give them a certificate to show that they attended our
schools. They will have to use this document to get an equivalent
diploma in their own country. As for how this will work and what kind
of procedures will be followed, we'll see about that later."
He said the Armenian community has been fighting to allow irregular
immigrants to attend Armenian schools for two years. According to
AteÅ~_yan, about 1,000 children from Armenia are living in Turkey with
their parents, who have come here for work but have no papers. "We will
send the children to about 10 schools, including Uskudar Kalfayan,
Feriköy Merametciyan and Kumkapı Bezciyan. I don't know how many
parents will send their children to school, because most of these
families live in neighborhoods far from where our schools are located,
but it is a great step to take even if only a single child is able
to attend school."
AteÅ~_yan said that in terms of the inclusion of irregular Armenian
immigrants in the Turkish school system, they have reached a point
that was very meaningful and important for the Armenian community. He
said he wanted to thank Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arınc, Education
Minister Dincer and former Education Minister Nimet Cubukcu, as well
as other officials, on behalf of the Armenian Patriarchate and the
Armenian community of Turkey.
In another development, the International Russian School in Antalya,
which follows the Russian Federation's education curriculum, started
its school year on Sept. 1, when schools open in Russia. There are
70 Russian students in the school's elementary section. The school's
principal, Victor Bikkenev, said the diplomas earned by the students
in the school are valid in Russia. Classes are conducted in Russian
at the school, which also offers Turkish, English and German classes.
Today's Zaman
Sept 2 2011
Turkey
Families from Armenia who reside in Turkey as illegal aliens will be
able to send their children to schools run by the Turkish Armenian
Patriarchate thanks to a two-year battle fought by Deputy Patriarch
Aram AteÅ~_yan.
News reports on Friday said Education Minister Omer Dincer had
given his permission to allow Armenian children residing in Turkey
as irregular immigrants to unofficially attend classes in Armenian
schools in the next school year. This comes shortly after Turkey
announced it would return all property confiscated from religious
minority foundations and associations during the early republican era.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also approved the decision to
let children from Armenia attend the schools as guest students.
"The ministry has given the necessary permission and we are very happy
about this," Deputy Patriarch AteÅ~_yan stated. He said the children
will be enrolled as guest students, meaning they will be exempt from
class examinations and will not be able to receive a diploma. "But
we plan to give them a certificate to show that they attended our
schools. They will have to use this document to get an equivalent
diploma in their own country. As for how this will work and what kind
of procedures will be followed, we'll see about that later."
He said the Armenian community has been fighting to allow irregular
immigrants to attend Armenian schools for two years. According to
AteÅ~_yan, about 1,000 children from Armenia are living in Turkey with
their parents, who have come here for work but have no papers. "We will
send the children to about 10 schools, including Uskudar Kalfayan,
Feriköy Merametciyan and Kumkapı Bezciyan. I don't know how many
parents will send their children to school, because most of these
families live in neighborhoods far from where our schools are located,
but it is a great step to take even if only a single child is able
to attend school."
AteÅ~_yan said that in terms of the inclusion of irregular Armenian
immigrants in the Turkish school system, they have reached a point
that was very meaningful and important for the Armenian community. He
said he wanted to thank Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arınc, Education
Minister Dincer and former Education Minister Nimet Cubukcu, as well
as other officials, on behalf of the Armenian Patriarchate and the
Armenian community of Turkey.
In another development, the International Russian School in Antalya,
which follows the Russian Federation's education curriculum, started
its school year on Sept. 1, when schools open in Russia. There are
70 Russian students in the school's elementary section. The school's
principal, Victor Bikkenev, said the diplomas earned by the students
in the school are valid in Russia. Classes are conducted in Russian
at the school, which also offers Turkish, English and German classes.