School transport in the TRNC has not started: Kar-İş demands that the ministry publish negotiation minutes

The Kar-İş association of private Turkish Cypriot passenger transport operators has demanded that the TRNC Ministry of National Education make public the minutes of negotiations, correspondence and proposals submitted regarding school transport. The statement by the association’s chairman, Fuat Topaloğlu, was made on 16 September, when school buses had still not started operating after the beginning of the school year.

Topaloğlu was responding to an accusation of insincerity made by Minister of National Education Nazım Çavuşoğlu. According to the head of Kar-İş, the ministry must explain exactly which demand from the transport operators was not met and why, as well as set deadlines for resolving each issue. “Scheduling a meeting does not mean reaching a solution,” he said, calling on the minister either to produce the documents or withdraw his statements.

Transport operators have not been running the routes since the beginning of the school year. Kar-İş says that payments for the work have not been settled since July 2026, and that the contracts for transporting students have not been renewed. The association insists that the issue is not limited to an increase in the fare: the outstanding debt must first be paid and the legal basis of the contracts restored.

On 15 September, Çavuşoğlu said that the safety of school transport was not open to discussion and accused Kar-İş of announcing action over the weekend even though a meeting had been scheduled for Monday. According to the minister, discussions with the transport operators covered drivers’ professional rights, the technical condition of the buses and safety systems — seat belts and cameras — while a fare increase was being worked on together with Finance Minister Özdemir Berova.

On the morning of 16 September, Mustafa Baybora, chairman of the Turkish Cypriot teachers’ union KTÖS, said that school transport services were not operating and parents had to drive their children themselves, while some schools still resembled construction sites when classes began.