SHTETËZIMI I SHKOLLAVE PRIVATE GREKE DHE REAGIMI I MINORITETIT. (Albanian)

NATURALIZATION OF GREEK PRIVATE SCHOOLS AND MINORITY REACTION. (English)

In April 1933, the Albanian government decided to ban private education in Albania, putting it under the control of the Albanian state. This measure also affected the private minority schools in Albania, in which the number of pupils was very small. However schools in the Greek minority area were more numerous than in other areas of the country. The Ministry of Education of Albania fired Greek language teachers who did not know Albanian and those who did not have the relevant education. The only criticism that could be leveled at these measures was the reduction of Greek language teaching hours, initially to 4 and then to 6 hours per week. In the first steps, the resistance of the Greek minority population was passive. In early 1934, the problem of schools began to become more acute. The promoters of this movement were, as always, the Greek consulates. The Greek consul of Gjirokastra had instructed the elders of some Greek villages that the schools would be opened with weapons and that "we are able to cut up the whole of Albania, if it does not meet our demands." The complaint that the Greeks addressed to the League of Nations stated that the number of Greek schools closed was 350. In fact, this was a falsification. Under strong external pressure, the Albanian Ministry of Education began to make concessions. Initially, it authorized the teaching of the Greek language in 13 other primary schools of the Greek minority. Shortly afterwards, the Albanian Ministry of Education made a significant release. She ordered that the teaching of all subjects in Greek schools be conducted only in the Greek language. In mid-January 1935, the issue of the protection of minorities in Albania was raised in the Council of the League of Nations. The case was further referred to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The boycott of teaching by students from Greek minority villages would nevertheless continue until a decision was made a few weeks later by the Hague Tribunal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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