TRNC Parliament Approves Budgets for Ministry of National Education and EMU

The General Assembly of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has approved the 2024 budget for the Ministry of National Education with a majority vote, totaling 16 billion 700 million 959 thousand Turkish lira. Parliament also approved the budgets for Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), the Atatürk Teacher Training Academy (AÖA), and the European University of Lefke (EUL).

During the session, Minister of National Education Nazım Çavuşoğlu emphasized that "education should not be sacrificed for politics."

“Education is our shared responsibility and a common goal,” Çavuşoğlu stated.

He further noted that the ministry lacks the resources to open foreign-language schools to support students who do not speak Turkish. The primary challenge, he explained, is a shortage of nearly 400 teachers.

Following parliamentary discussions, the Ministry of Education’s budget was approved.

The specific allocations approved are as follows:

• Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU): 6 billion 572 million 217 thousand Turkish lira
• Atatürk Teacher Training Academy (AÖA): 60 million 632 thousand Turkish lira
• European University of Lefke (EUL): 2 billion 66 million 771 thousand Turkish lira

Parliament will continue discussions today on the budgets for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Turkish Agency-Cyprus, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.