Turkish Cypriot teachers staged a protest outside the north’s ‘parliament’ and ‘education ministry’ on Thursday, calling on ‘minister’ Nazim Cavusoglu to resign.

The protests were held over a range of issues, including the teaching of lessons in portacabins and unsafe buildings, and a perceived departure from secular education that came with controversial new textbooks.

Protesters marched to the ‘parliament’ building in northern Nicosia, where speeches were made by trade union leaders and opposition politicians, before marching to the ‘education ministry’ building.

In addition to flags and placards, a number of demonstrators also carried a corrugated iron shack on the march, representing the temporary structures which have been erected in the playgrounds of some schools after their buildings were deemed unsafe following inspections.

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‘Sergeantson College’

Alongside the shack was a sign for the “Sergeantson College”, a play on the literal translation of the ‘minister’s’ name in English, with the tagline “don’t be scared of being late to school, be afraid of coming to school without a hard hat!”

Outside the ‘parliament’ building, Cyprus Turkish Secondary Education Teachers’ Union (Ktoeos) Chairwoman Selma Eylem said, “we have come once again to say we will not remain silent in the face of the impositions of the higher echelons of management and their collaborator puppets who impose educational, political, social, and cultural policies on our society.”

“We will not bow down to those who do not invest in education, who leave us to our fate with insufficient staff, and leave our children at risk,” she added.

CTP ‘MP’ Erkut Sahali also spoke at the event, saying “those in power act despotically so they can stay in place. Teachers are victims of this. They dock teachers’ salaries because they don’t attend forced trainings, they dock teahcers’ because they protest.”

Activist and mukhtar of Kioneli’s Yenikent neighbourhood Melek Arabacioglu also spoke at the event saying “we will not accept the social engineering they plan to do. When it comes to our children, they have gone to far. They tested our patience first by imposing a curriculum and then by imposing full-time hours without any infrastructure.”

“The government and Cavusoglu should know we entrust our children, our most valuable assets, to our teachers in those dilapidated schools. I wish Cavusoglu, as a minister, had devoted his valuable time to the problems the education sector faces rather than attacking, oppressing, and discrediting teachers.”

Cyprus Turkish Teachers’ Union (Ktos) General Secretary Burak Mavish also briefly spoke at the protest, saying “many people came and went from these ministerial positions, many people became enemies of teachers but left their seat. Nazim’s days are numbered.”

“Tomorrow is November 10”, he said, referencing the 85th anniversary of the death of Turkish founding President Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

“Enemies of teachers, those who surrendered to Ankara, those who gave way to bigotry will wear their badges, stand in front of Ataturk, and swear allegiance. We do not believe you,” he said.

Hours earlier, Mavish had explained to the Cyprus Mail that some schools in the north receive just 0.12 toilet rolls per pupil – one toilet roll between eight – per year.