Azernews.Az

ANKARA – Armenian schools in Turkey are set to begin admitting students according to a new policy in light of the increasing number of children born to couples of mixed Turkish-Armenian and non-Armenian descent, Hurriyet reported.

A number of children born to intercultural couples are already attending a variety of the 18 Armenian schools in Istanbul.

Previously, for a child to be allowed to register at an Armenian school both parents had to be members of the Armenian Apostolic Church, however the Education Ministry recently issued a notice stating that only one of the parents had to be a church member.

Principal Karekin Barsamyan of the Private Pangalti (Mkhitaryan) Armenian High School told recently the Hurriyet Daily News that a number of the school’s students were registered as Muslim on their identity cards, while some were registered as Syriac and others were registered as having Turkish-Greek parents. "Regardless of what their identity cards say, these kids are receiving an Armenian-Christian education and they will decide upon their identities themselves in the future," Barsamyan said.

Mkhitaryan High School has been the "coordinating school" of all Armenian Minority Schools since the first years of the Turkish Republic, according to an official notice issued at the time.