National Education Minister Yusuf Tekin commented Wednesday on a row regarding the operation of some French schools in the country and said Ankara hopes the schools can find an international legal basis and remain open.
“Schools will be allowed to operate if they comply with our regulations. If they don’t, their (status) will be null and void,” Tekin told reporters.
The minister stated recently that Türkiye would take the “necessary steps,” implying school closures if the two French schools in the country continued violating Turkish education regulations. He was speaking about Charles De Gaulle high school in the capital Ankara and Pierre Loti school in Istanbul. Under current laws, schools are required to admit French nationals only but Turkish authorities say the majority of students are Turkish citizens. Authorities say the two schools also rejected inspections by the ministry, despite laws.
Tekin said Wednesday that the two schools have to obtain legal status through an international agreement and they were now working to arrange a deal for this status. He said French and Turkish officials are engaged in talks currently to resolve the matter.
The minister added that past governments have repeatedly warned France about the schools since 1993, but France did not take any steps to resolve the issue.
In 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron threatened Türkiye to scrap Turkish classes in several schools unless those schools complied with French laws.
Other legally operating French schools in Türkiye were recently issued fines by the country’s Competition Authority after it found they had collectively determined school registration fees and salaries of teachers, in violation of laws.
