Italian unions call on Foreign Ministry regarding the Private Italian High School in Istanbul: 'Action must be taken immediately'
Leading Italian unions FLC CGIL and ANIEF have issued an urgent call to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) to resolve the administrative crisis and uncertainties at the Private Italian High School in Istanbul.
Cenk Başboğaoğlu
Cenk Başboğaoğlu - 12punto.com.tr
Irregularities at the Private Italian High School, one of Istanbul's long-standing educational institutions, have been brought to the agenda of Italian unions.
In a joint report published by the FLC CGIL and ANIEF unions, it was pointed out that the school is experiencing a serious administrative collapse ahead of the new academic year, and an urgent call for action was made to the authorities.
'123-DAY STRIKE AND INSPECTION PROCESS DEEPENED THE CRISIS'
The report recalled that a strike was held for 123 days due to the working conditions and rights demands of the local staff working at the school. It was stated that the chronic problems experienced during this period and the severe administrative deficiencies identified during official inspections conducted by the Turkish Ministry of National Education at the school escalated the crisis. It was expressed that the managerial vacuum at the institution reached its peak following the cancellation of the then-school principal's work permit after the inspections.
NO COUNTERPART FOUND AHEAD OF THE NEW ACADEMIC YEAR
The unions emphasized that MAECI officials have remained silent in the face of the ongoing crisis and that their requests for union meetings have been left unanswered.
In their statement, the Italian unions listed the main problems at the school shortly before the start of the new academic year as follows:
—No new appointment has been made to replace the school principal whose term has expired, and uncertainty regarding the management of administrative and accounting services continues.
—An official and clear calendar regarding the start date of classes, teachers' board meetings, and basic academic operations has not yet been announced.
—It was reported that no institutional guarantee has been provided regarding the status and future of the local staff who participated in past actions.
CALL TO THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
FLC CGIL and ANIEF invited the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take over the management of the school and to establish an emergency crisis desk. The statement emphasized that legal, financial, and administrative stability must be ensured immediately at the school to protect Italy's educational prestige abroad.
On the other hand, as revealed by 12punto, school principal Giuseppe Finocchiaro had been assigned to an Italian High School in Paris. In their call to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Italian unions demanded an explanation regarding the administrative transparency of the former school principal's appointment to Paris.
They stated that, especially since Paris is a duty station linked to a different language region than the originally foreseen Johannesburg, it must be explained on which criteria and which administrative procedures this choice was based.
WHAT HAD HAPPENED?
Following the 123-day legal strike, which resulted in a victory for the teachers, the school administration had dismissed the teachers who were union members and participated in the strike one by one on unfair and baseless grounds.
Istanbul Private Italian High School Principal Giuseppe Finocchiaro, whose employment was subsequently terminated by the Ministry of National Education and who came to the agenda with his practices towards teachers, had been assigned to an Italian High School in Paris.