Greece’s recent decision to suspend the operation of eight minority primary schools in Western Thrace for the 2026–2027 academic year has once again become a flashpoint for diplomatic confrontation and political exploitation by Turkey.
Ankara, adopting rhetoric centered on the violation of rights, is attempting to portray itself as the protector of the Muslim minority — even as Athens presents concrete demographic and educational data to counter those claims. “There is no targeting of minority schools, which are simply following the same contraction seen across the country as a result of demographic decline,” Greece’s Ministry of Education stated in response. The ministry also emphasized that, contrary to Ankara’s claims, minority schools in Greece already receive preferential treatment: the minimum student threshold for suspending a minority primary school is significantly lower than that applied to mainstream public primary schools.
Specifically, the threshold for suspending a public primary school is 15 students, while for minority primary schools it stands at just 9. Nevertheless, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli reacted sharply, dismissing low enrollment figures as a “pretext” for closing the schools and accusing Greece of undermining educational rights protected under the Treaty of Lausanne. In a similar vein, former Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Hakan Cavusoglu — who himself originates from a minority community in Western Thrace — argued that the decision constitutes a “serious assault on the language, culture, and identity” of the community, calling on the international community to intervene.
Mary Kosmidou, Director of Regional Education for Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, spoke to parapolitika.gr and stressed that the suspension of the eight minority schools is not an arbitrary decision, but is mandated by Law 10/2019, which provides for the suspension of school units with fewer than nine enrolled students. She pointed to the absence of any bias, noting that 39 public schools in the region are being suspended this year, compared to just 8 minority schools. As she explained: “The suspension does not depend solely on demographics — whether there are children or not — but also on where the parents are. Many leave temporarily for work in Europe, and there is also internal migration. Many families relocate to Alexandroupolis in the Evros region, or to Komotini in the case of Xanthi, and of course there is migration toward the two major urban centers, Thessaloniki and Athens.” It is also worth noting that, as Ms. Kosmidou pointed out, when conditions allow, previously suspended schools can and do reopen. This was the case with the Kehros Minority Primary School, which resumed operations after its student numbers increased.
Dimitris Kairidis, parliamentary spokesperson for New Democracy, framed the issue in its broader political context, arguing that Turkey has been systematically obstructing efforts to improve minority education, seeking to keep the minority community “trapped and isolated” so that it remains “controllable, manipulable, and dependent on Ankara’s nationalists.” Speaking to parapolitika.gr, he stated: “Unfortunately, the Turkish state has systematically blocked any initiatives aimed at upgrading the education of minority children. There is a well-founded suspicion that it seeks to keep the minority confined and isolated — and therefore more controllable, manipulable, and dependent on Ankara’s nationalists. The Greek state’s obligation is to pursue a continuous effort to improve educational standards within a framework of equality and equal citizenship, offering the minority even greater opportunities for integration and development within Greek society.”
In practical terms, students from the suspended schools will be enrolled in multi-grade schools in nearby areas and provided with free transportation, where they will have access to specialized subjects such as information technology, music, and physical education — offering richer learning experiences and better socialization prospects. Yet for Turkey, Thrace remains a tool of political pressure, with education sacrificed on the altar of its own geopolitical ambitions.
