Northern Cyprus teachers' unions demand urgent school safety reforms

Teachers' unions in Northern Cyprus are raising alarms regarding increasing violence, peer bullying, and security failures within the school system. Ahmet Karaoğulları, President of the Cyprus Turkish Middle Education Teachers' Union (KTOEÖS), emphasized that ensuring schools are safe environments free from physical and psychological abuse is the primary responsibility of the state and the Ministry of Education.

Karaoğulları specifically addressed recent reports of sexual assaults involving children in school settings, including an incident at Güzelyurt Vocational High School. He called for investigations into how individuals are assigned to schools and whether proper background checks and security protocols are being followed. He urged the Ministry of Education to provide explanations and the police to investigate potential negligence or favoritism in staff appointments.

Concurrently, Burak Maviş, General Secretary of the Cyprus Turkish Teachers' Union (KTÖS), highlighted a critical shortage of psychological support services. He noted that among 110 schools under the Primary Education Department, only 26 psychological counseling and guidance teachers are employed, resulting in a ratio of approximately one counselor for every 850 students. Maviş argued that violence in schools is a structural issue that cannot be solved through discipline alone, but requires strengthening the educational system through increased staffing of guidance counselors and improved psychosocial support mechanisms.