The Association of Political Science Graduates called for the reinstatement of dedicated civics education in schools following an incident where students were photographed performing Nazi salutes.
The association is demanding the restoration of the standalone civics course that was abolished in 2015, according to a statement released after students at the Peace and Freedom High School in Deryneia-Sotira were photographed making Nazi gestures.
“The photograph was not necessary to perceive the penetration of such ideas and behaviours in schools and the state’s failure to invest adequately in democratic education,” the association said.
The group rejected the government’s position that civics education is adequately covered across various subjects including Modern Greek, Health Education and Biology.
Political science graduates are seeking involvement in upcoming discussions about the school curriculum timetable, the statement added.
The association emphasised that any reinstated civics courses should be taught by qualified political science graduates using contemporary textbooks written by specialists.
What was the Nazi salute incident?
A group of students at the Peace and Freedom Gymnasium-Lyceum in Deryneia, Famagusta district, were photographed performing Nazi salutes during a class photo session, triggering public outcry and an official investigation by the Ministry of Education.
The incident came to light after the left-wing political party AKEL published the photo on social media, alleging that a teacher encouraged the students to continue posing with the salute despite objections from another staff member. AKEL condemned the act as a “dangerous deviation” that undermines democratic values and called on the Education Minister to take decisive action to prevent the spread of fascist ideologies in schools.
In response, the Ministry of Education described the salute as a “thoughtless reaction” by students following their official photo session. The ministry stated that it had issued instructions to school staff to prevent similar gestures in the future.
The secondary-school teachers’ union OELMEK denied allegations that any teacher encouraged the salute, asserting that the school’s administration and teaching staff handled the incident appropriately. The union also criticised the distortion of facts surrounding the event.
AKEL criticised the ministry’s response as inadequate, accusing it of downplaying the incident and ignoring the influence of far-right ideologies in the education system.
