Teachers at 19 Turkish Cypriot schools went on strike on Monday over an ongoing dispute regarding the north’s ‘education ministry’ deciding to implement regular afternoon classes.
Chairwoman of the Cyprus Turkish secondary education teachers’ union (KTOEOS) Selma Eylem said the strike had been organised “to share with the public the problems experienced” at all schools in the north.
She added that rolling strikes will take place in all schools, with other schools’ teachers to strike in the coming days.
She criticised the ‘ministry’s’ decision to “switch to full-time education without any preparation and act with the mentality of ‘I can do it, it will happen’”, and said the current timetables will “create chaos in education and create security and nutrition problems.”
Citing examples at the Meral and Vedat Ertungu high school, she said there was no caretaker, no gate on the playground, no place for children to sit, no shade, and “only a small canteen for 500 children.”
As a result, she said, children will go hungry if they are made to stay at school all day, especially given the financial situation of many parents.
In addition, she said classes are overcrowded to the point that “efficient education cannot be provided,” with some class sizes at certain schools now exceeding 40 pupils.
The union’s general secretary Tahir Gokcebel called on ‘education minister’ Nazim Cavusoglu to resign, saying “he has nothing to offer education.”