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Turkish Cypriots recognise university and colleges in the south
By Simon Bahceli


THE Turkish Cypriot ‘education ministry’ and the Turkish Security Forces Command in Cyprus have announced that students from the north taking courses in colleges and universities in the Republic will be able to defer military service for the duration of their studies.

Although the move is primarily aimed at benefiting the increasing number of students choosing to study south of the Green Line, it is also being seen as part of gradual moves towards improving relations with the Republic of Cyprus.

“This year we have around 100 students studying in the south, and with many of them being male they are required to do their military service,” ‘education ministry undersecretary’ Erdogan Sorakin told the Cyprus Mail yesterday. “We didn’t see why these students should have problems with the army simply because they want to study there, so last August we proposed applying the same measures to them as to students who study elsewhere.”

The decision brings the Republic onto the same footing as countries abroad for which students can receive financial aid and deferment of military service. Unlike in the Republic, Turkish Cypriot males can defer military service if they are enrolled in higher education courses.

Sorakin said his ‘ministry’ had also proposed providing financial grants to students studying in the south.

“We proposed that students studying in countries other than north Cyprus and Turkey be awarded grants, but although our proposal was accepted at committee level it could not be realised due to financial constraints,” he said.

He added that the move had not been politically motivated but was simply a decision based on “humanitarian grounds” aimed at helping young Turkish Cypriots.

Sorakin said he would like to see further co-operation between the education services north and south of the Green Line, but conceded he had been disappointed by cool Greek Cypriot reaction to overtures made by the north.

“We are always open to working more closely with the Greek Cypriot side. We’ve done things on this side that have not been matched in the south,” Sorakin said, pointing to the reopening in September of a Greek secondary school in Rizokarpaso.

“We opened the school, but nothing has been done to help us open a school in Limassol,” he said.