Path cleared for wearing headscarves in classrooms in the TRNC

The TRNC Council of Ministers has approved the Regulation on Dress Code Discipline Amendments for schools. TRNC Council of Ministers Spokesperson Özdemir Berova stated, "We have discussed and approved the disciplinary amendment regulation and have sent it to be published in the Official Gazette. Before providing information about the content, I would like to talk about the process."

Stating that the regulation was finalized by carefully examining the rules regarding the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is included in the Constitution and was also approved by the Republican Assembly in 1996, as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and children's rights, Berova said, "Our regulation regarding the amendment, which was prepared by our Ministry of National Education yesterday and then sent to be technically discussed by the Technical Committee, was evaluated at length today in our Republican Assembly by our National Unity Party group, and this final version of the amendment was brought to the agenda of our Council of Ministers in line with the suggestions made there."

Berova said, "A regulation has been prepared in line with two main principles, taking into account the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the rules clearly stated to us by our constitution. These principles, that is, the principles regarding student dress code; one, is that the student dress code regulation should not constitute an obstacle to equal opportunity in education and should be in accordance with pedagogical principles. The second is determined based on the principle of rejecting all forms of discrimination regarding dress code in the educational environment."

Pointing out that the standard in schools is the uniform and that the type of uniform is determined by school administrations, Berova said, "And again, as clearly stated in the main regulation, although not in this amendment regulation, there can be no ideological expressions, badges, or writing on the uniform that could convey a message in any way. This is a matter that already exists in our main regulation. In this context, in the regulation amendment we made for students of compulsory education age, the authority to determine school uniforms and the dress code in light of these principles has been left entirely to school administrations."

"WE HAVE CLEARLY STATED IN THE REGULATION THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE FREE TO WEAR CERTAIN ATTIRE REQUIRED BY THEIR BELIEFS"

Berova said, "For our high school-aged students, we have clearly stated in the regulation that, along with the school uniform determined by the school administration, our students are free to wear certain attire required by their beliefs. Our Ministry of National Education has set forth the principles and procedures for the color, harmony, pattern, shape, and size of these specified garments to be compatible with the school uniform through circulars to be issued by the Ministry. If any attire other than uniforms is to be used in secondary education, this is left to the decision of the school administration. At the high school level, that is, for students who have passed the compulsory education age, certain attire that does not cover the school uniform will be published by our ministry as soon as possible in accordance with the circular to be prepared by the Ministry, and these may be subject to changes in line with incoming requests. This latest regulation amendment of ours has been approved by the Council of Ministers and sent to the State Printing Office."

News Source: İHA