TRNC teachers’ union demands permanent monitoring of school transport

The Turkish Cypriot Secondary Education Teachers’ Union (KTOEÖS) has called for a permanent and verifiable school transport monitoring system to be established in Northern Cyprus, with regular inspections of vehicles and drivers and clearly assigned responsibility. The statement was issued four days before the start of the school year: from 14 September, more than half of the students at TRNC primary and secondary schools and high schools will travel to classes in more than 800 vehicles.

Union chairman Ahmet Karaogulları called on the TRNC Ministry of Education to comply with laws and subsidiary legislation. “The safety of our children cannot be made dependent on political connections, party affiliation or economic interests,” he said.

According to Karaogulları, no concrete steps have yet been taken to ensure the safe transport of students. The current Regulation on Transport, the union believes, is not being fully implemented and needs to be updated: gaps create risks and leave room for arbitrary decisions.

The union insists that checks should cover drivers’ qualifications, health and work permits, as well as the age of vehicles, their technical and mechanical condition, regular maintenance and suitability for transporting children.

At the same time, Karaogulları claims, responsibility is being shifted to school administrations — from keeping transport records and monitoring the technical condition of vehicles to controlling the number of students being transported. “If the ministry has the authority, then the ministry should also bear the responsibility,” he said.

The union recalled incidents involving buses transporting students from Değirmenlik High School in 2019 and Erenköy High School in 2025, and said that the promises made at the time had never been fulfilled. Karaogulları also separately criticised Education Minister Nazım Çavuşoğlu for holding a meeting on school transport without involving the unions.