The Pupil Population of the Minority in Thrace - An Overview

Minority members' educational level is, in general, very low. Until recently, it was only at the primary school level that schooling was universal. Since the last decade, however, the situation has been changing at a very fast pace. The schooling of minority children at every educational level is expanding and tends toward becoming universal.

Primary (Elementary) Education

Kindergartens
On the level of pre-school education, one should first mention that there are no minority kindergartens. The schooling of minority children at Greek-language kindergartens is not yet universal, although there has clearly been a very big increase in children receiving pre-school education.

Minority children at public kindergartens

Primary (Elementary) Schools
The largest portion (about two-thirds) of primary-school-age children, by the choice of their parents, go to minority primary schools, which are for minority children only, and form a distinct part of education with a double and bilingual (Greek and Turkish) curriculum. The classes in Greek at these schools are taught by teachers who are members of the majority and the classes in Turkish by teachers who are members of the minority (or by teachers from Turkey).

Pupils Attending Minority Primary Schools in Thrace (by prefecture/county)

Besides the children who go to minority schools, there is also a significant number of children who attend public, Greek-Language primary schools. In 1996-97, in the Xanthi and Rhodope prefectures, there were about 300 minority pupils at public schools, whereas in 2009-10 the number of minority children attending such schools rose to 2,880. This rising trend is more pronounced in the Xanthi prefecture. Almost all minority children complete the 6-year primary education. Children from families with special economic and social problems are an exception to this rule. These families mostly live in the outskirts of large cities, but move often, in search for a job. The Program organizes systematic actions aiming at supporting these pupils, so as to reduce their rate of incomplete schooling and early dropout from school.

Secondary Education

At the level of secondary education, alongside the public, Greek-language secondary (middle) schools, the general and vocational high schools, there are two minority secondary/high schools (one in Xanthi and one in Komotini) and two Muslim religious schools (medreses), the first one in Komotini and the second one in Echinos.

The number of minority pupils who go to secondary schools has increased dramatically within the last 15 years. Secondary education thus tends to become universal. About one-fourth of these pupils attend minority-only schools, i.e., minority secondary/high schools and Muslim religious schools, while about three-fourth of them go to public secondary schools.

However, despite the indisputable improvement that has been observed in the last decade or so, there are still many pupils who have to repeat a grade or choose to drop out. For the cohort that graduated from primary school in 1997-98, the secondary-school dropout rate was 65% and even though there is a downward trend in the dropout rate of minority pupils, it is still clearly higher than the national average.

The high school attendance rate of minority children has also increased, while a significant percentage of high-school age minority children now attend technical and vocational schools.

Minority Pupils at Secondary Schools – Xanthi and Rhodope Prefectures

Minority Pupils at High Schools and Technical-Vocational High Schools –

Xanthi and Rhodope Prefectures

Source: All the above figures have been obtained from the Education Ministry Offices for Primary and Secondary Education and from Dr. Nelli Askouni's book, entitled Η εκπαίδευση της μειονότητας στη Θράκη. Από το περιθώριο στην προοπτική της κοινωνικής ένταξης [The Education of Minority in Thrace: From the Margins to the Prospect of Social Integration], Athens: Alexandria Pub., 2006.