A Greek Orthodox elementary school is about to reopen on Imvros Island, as the Minister of National Education of Turkey, Nabi Avci announced. The Ministry accepted the demand to re-open the school for the Greek minority in the same building it was housed. The agreement was achieved after a private meeting between Avci and Greek Education Minister, Konstantinos Arvanitopoulos, during the Greek government’s official visit to Instanbul, according to Dimokratia newspaper.
In a statement to the Turkish news agency Anadolu, Avci said that “the school started to function in 1951 and closed in May 27, 1964, upon the school founder’s request.” Schools on Imvros closed in 1964 because the Turkish government had forbidden the Greek language in these schools.
The reopening of the Greek Orthodox School will help the Greek children living there to learn the language and many families from Istanbul and Greece to return there.
Meanwhile, from 2011 until today, four of the Greek schools in Istanbul have been shut down upon their founders’ request, as Anadolu Agency reports.
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