Türkiye on Monday condemned Greece's decision to close eight primary schools belonging to the Turkish minority in Western Thrace ahead of the 2026-2027 academic year, arguing that the move violates international obligations and further erodes the educational rights of the minority community.
The criticism came from both the Foreign Ministry and Hakan Çavuşoğlu, a member of the Presidential Council for Legal Policies and a former deputy prime minister of Türkiye who is himself from the Western Thrace Turkish minority.
Greece has cited insufficient student enrollment as the reason for shutting down the schools. According to Turkish officials, the closures reduce the number of Turkish minority primary schools in Western Thrace to 76.
Çavuşoğlu, who attended one of the minority schools that is now scheduled to close, described the decision as a personal disappointment and argued that it extends a long pattern of restrictions targeting Turkish minority education.
"The closure of these schools does not simply mean locking the doors of school buildings," Çavuşoğlu said. "It represents a serious intervention against the language, culture, identity and future of the Western Thrace Turkish community."
