For the first time after 571 years, the 1st Grade of the Secondary School of the Great School of the Nation has no student

Every year, September 12 is traditionally a joyful day for the Great School of the Nation. The oldest Greek schoolhouse successful the world, successful uninterrupted cognition astir since the time aft the Fall of Constantinople successful 1454 until today, commemorates the inauguration of the gathering with the diagnostic reddish colour wherever it has been housed since 1882. This year, however, the day is overshadowed by the confirmation that the aboriginal of the celebrated School is much than gloomy. In fact, the quality that determination was not a azygous caller pupil successful the 1st Grade of the Secondary School for the caller world twelvemonth is tantamount to sealing its end. After 571 consecutive years of operation, done occurrence and sword for astir six centuries, with a enactment of superb minds who taught and studied there, for the Great School of the Nation the question is nary longer if, but lone when it volition beryllium forced to adjacent permanently.

Its cognition is successful danger

On September 1, the 2 imperishable supporters of the School, the Association of Alumni of the Great School and the Association of Friends of the Patriarchal Great School of the Nation, issued a associated connection successful a melodramatic tone:
“With highly sedate interest we were informed by Mr. Dimitris Zotos, manager of the School, that the downward people of this salient acquisition instauration continues, reaching this twelvemonth the utmost constituent of having nary caller registration successful the 1st Grade of the Secondary School. In a missive sent by Mr. Zotos to the competent authorities, the causes of this unprecedented improvement are outlined, successful opposition to the different Greek schools of Constantinople, and proposals are submitted successful bid to flooded the precise superior hazard of cessation of cognition of the oldest acquisition instauration of Hellenism worldwide.”

The School’s immense halls present capable lone erstwhile the Greeks of the City clasp immoderate celebratory event.

The 2 bodies, profoundly alarmed by the developments successful Constantinople, picture the information of the School’s closure aft 571 years of fruitful cognition arsenic “a disgrace for Hellenism.” The demographic illness of the Greek inhabitants of Constantinople is the obvious, instinctive mentation for the diminution of the Great School of the Nation. Today it has astir 30 students, with lone 4–5 graduates per year, portion teachers often thatch successful immense classrooms to conscionable a azygous child. However, headmaster Dimitris Zotos, beyond the evident cause, highlights successful his missive to the Greek consulate successful Constantinople and different stakeholders different superior problem, wholly antithetic successful quality from the dwindling Greek presence.

He refers to a alternatively unfair contention among the Greek number schools of the City:
“In the past 20 years a peculiarly worrying improvement has undermined the School’s viability: children from Greek families who settee successful Constantinople are directed astir systematically to different schools, depriving the Great School of the Nation of the indispensable pupil assemblage that would unafraid its uninterrupted continuation. The informal statement reached successful 2017 betwixt the directors of the 3 historical schools (Great School, Zappeion, Zografeion) for balanced organisation of students and the safeguarding of each 3 institutions’ operation, unfortunately, was implemented for lone 1 year. Its abandonment led to a disproportionate alteration successful the pupil numbers of the Great School, which this twelvemonth risks operating with less than 30 students.”

The Turks would prevention it

The cardinal paradox regarding the beingness of the Great School of the Nation is embedded successful its precise identity: arsenic a number acquisition institution, it admits lone students of Greek origin. Yet determination is involvement from galore purely Turkish families, who are consenting to enroll their children successful the legendary “Red School” of Phanar (or “Fener” successful Turkish). However, the number presumption of the School a priori excludes the acceptance of Turkish students — thing that, if it were allowed, would prevention the School, but astatine the aforesaid clip beryllium disastrous, arsenic the School would wholly wantonness its centuries-old Greek character.
Given that the Greek colonisation successful Constantinople is steadily declining, the pupil assemblage of the Great School shrinks proportionally and inexorably. The trajectory appears to beryllium heading inevitably toward implicit zero — some for the Greeks of Constantinople successful general, present numbering lone 1,500–2,000 people, and for their children who mightiness person attended the historical Secondary and High School of Phanar. From a demographic standpoint, the information that this twelvemonth determination was not a azygous caller registration successful the 1st Grade constitutes a bittersweet yet wide omen of the preordained destiny of Hellenism successful Constantinople.

Phanar, 1930. Young students airs successful beforehand of the Great School of the Nation.

In an interrogation successful 2023, erstwhile the fig of students was inactive 41 alternatively of today’s 33, headmaster Zotos explained to a Turkish outlet:
“Since the Great School of the Nation is simply a number school, we indispensable run strictly wrong the model of planetary treaties and based connected the protocols signed betwixt Greece and Turkey. In that sense, we cannot admit immoderate pupil who does not beryllium to the Greek minority, contempt the applications we person — mostly from parents who worth the precocious prime of acquisition here, combined with the precise tiny people sizes. Another important origin is the precocious occurrence complaint of our students, who proceed to higher education. Most of them, notably, take Turkish universities, arsenic it is evident that our children, astatine slightest successful the past 25–30 years, bash not spell overseas for studies. There are besides those who are funny successful learning Greek, successful summation to Turkish and English, which are the languages utilized for teaching here. Unfortunately, we cannot fulfill these requests.”

Mr. Zotos further emphasizes that the School gathering is enormous, with precise ample classrooms, precisely due to the fact that it was designed to big hundreds of students. In September 1882, astatine its inauguration, the School had 731 children — each boys astatine that clip — enrolled. In 1960, erstwhile the bloody question of unit against the Greeks of Constantinople erupted, it was reduced to 450 students. Today, it has much than 10 times fewer.
“There is thing we tin bash to reverse this demographic decline,” observes Zotos, stressing that “if we privation to support number schools live successful Turkey, specified arsenic the Great School of the Nation, definite criteria indispensable beryllium relaxed. The governments of Greece and Turkey indispensable supply a solution.”

When asked whether helium would judge children from different minorities too the Greek one, Zotos does not hesitate to answer:
“Why not? We are educators. Our ngo is to thatch children, truthful it would beryllium fantastic if we could code much students. Of course, everything depends connected intergovernmental negotiations betwixt Greece and Turkey.”

Comprehensive education

Regarding the acquisition programme itself, the Great School of the Nation covers each subjects required by the Turkish Ministry of Education, positive Greek and English. Additionally, honoring its unparalleled contented of excellence, the School remains successful tune with the tone of the times — hence since past year, students person been introduced to Artificial Intelligence and robotics, portion each STEM courses are taught successful Greek. In practice, astir 70% of the program is successful Greek, portion lone the perfectly required courses are taught successful Turkish.

Headmaster Zotos and the School’s committee stress its prestige arsenic 1 of Turkey’s apical schools successful presumption of acquisition quality. Still, Zotos admits that the programme whitethorn beryllium excessively demanding, particularly for the four-year High School. Compared with the prevailing Western inclination of reducing subjects, the School insists connected the older imaginativeness of comprehensive, humanistic, and technological education, successful the tone of the Enlightenment. The program ranges from Physics and Astronomy to Philosophy, Religious Studies, Civics, etc. But Greek History is excluded, arsenic stipulated by bilateral agreements connected number schools, wherever lone section and satellite past are taught.

SOS for Hellenism

Nevertheless, Zotos stresses the indispensable relation of the Great School arsenic a vas of Hellenism successful Turkey. Speaking to ERT helium said:
“Beyond our duties arsenic teachers, we Greeks of Constantinople person a immense work to guarantee that children larn who we are, what we went through, wherefore we are present — and wherefore we indispensable continue. It is up to america to instill successful students a Greek consciousness. Because Greek individuality entails responsibilities. We correspond a civilization that created the concepts of democracy, science, and justice. We see Greece our homeland and emotion it. But our homeland is besides here, the state wherever we live, Turkey. So our children indispensable cognize that they request to unrecorded with their chap citizens here, without antagonistic feelings. Every kid indispensable emotion the state they are in, due to the fact that we were calved here.

However, Greekness is precise important, due to the fact that each the stimuli astir america successful Constantinople contiguous are successful Turkish. It is not similar the times of our fathers and grandfathers, erstwhile everything astir them was Greek. There were neighborhoods with lone Greeks, and radical didn’t adjacent consciousness the request to talk Turkish. Things person changed now. And wrong this immense society, we indispensable sphere our identity. It is important to support our language, our traditions, and our schools alive.”