Greek preschool ready to open on Imvros

Three 5-year-olds born to Greek parents on the northeastern Aegean island of Imvros, known as Gokceada in Turkish, are looking forward to the first day of school after the Turkish Education Ministry green-lighted the operation of a Greek kindergarten.

"It is a positive development instigated by the community whose needs we serve," said Lakis Vingas, the head of the Imvros Educational Association, who took on the task of dealing with all the red tape in Ankara. "We expect the bell to ring just after Christmas."

The addition of the Greek kindergarten comes after Turkey last year approved the operation of a middle and high school, meaning that the minority Greek population now has access to every level of primary and secondary education - something that has not been the case since 1964.