The battle for the Melkonian
By Jean Christou
(archive article - Friday, November 14, 2003)

GREEN Party deputy George Perdikis said yesterday his party would fight any possible closure of the Armenian Melkonian Institute and would urge the government to save the school.

Speaking from an environmental point of view, Perdikis told the Cyprus Mail he would fight any move to turn the Melkonian grounds into a high-rise or residential area.

“It has a unique environment but it seems there are some developers who want to cut the trees and put buildings there,” he said. “Our party will oppose any such move.”

Perdikis said the party would also try to persuade the government to step in financially to support the school or take ownership in order to protect it. “It is a place of education and culture full of plants and trees.”

The Armenian community is up in arms over speculation that the Melkonian might be sold after developers set their sights on the £40 million property in the heart of the capital’s business district. One of those rumoured to be interested in the site is the Shacolas group.

The institute, founded in 1926, has been the centre of Armenian culture on the island for nearly 80 years: now it is under threat after the US-based Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), which administers the school, said it was considering selling. A decision is to be made in New York in early December.

A representative for the AGBU there told the Cyprus Mail yesterday they were “not ready to comment” on the future of the school, while a spokesman for the Shacolas group denied any interest at this “early stage”.
“We don’t know what the decision of the foundation will be,” said the spokesman.

However, informed sources told the Mail that Shacolas had made a bid for part of the Melkonian grounds some years ago.

“Although the Shacolas group has not placed a bid, it did make an offer to the Melkonian a couple of years ago to take the front strip in the commercial area and provide income to the school through the BOT (Build Operate Transfer) system,” said the source.

“The school turned them down, but actually it was New York that turned it down because they wanted it freehold to take a decision when the time came, which is now unfortunately.”

Shavasb Bohdjalian, the chairman of the Melkonian Alumni, said a campaign to save the school was gaining ground both in Cyprus and in Europe.

“A lot of the European AGBU centres are up in arms and a huge lobbying campaign is under way to convince the board not to go ahead with a sale,” he said.

Bohdjalian, whose own children are at the Melkonian, is worried about the situation. “But most probably like all other parents I am awaiting the December decision,” he added.

Bohdjalian said the problem was that Armenian schools around the world were loss making and that the American board saw things from a financial point of view.

“If it doesn’t make a profit or break even let’s shut it down,” he said.
But the Melkonian is more to the Armenian community than just a school. It was established to provide shelter to children fleeing the Turkish genocide and has become central to the Armenian way of life in Cyprus.

“It provides an Armenian education, which is something every Armenian wants his children to have, and it’s a controlled environment so things like drugs are non existent so even if my children tell me at night they want to go to the school I don’t worry,” said Bohdjalian.

“It may not sound like a valid argument, but it is a valid argument for any parent to know where their children are going at any moment.”

He also said the school had made tremendous efforts to improve standards and had had a lot of successes in examinations.

In September, an American consultant, Gordon Anderson, came to the island to prepare a report on the future of the school, and alternative options. The report has already been submitted to New York.

“When the people from New York saw the value of the property, it made them think of closing the school,” said Bohdjalian. “Personally I believe if they sell it they will just ship out. The Melkonian has the highest cost per student of all AGBU schools worldwide, but they are confusing a boarding school with day schools.”

Sixty of the Institute’s 210 pupils are from Cyprus, but the Melkonian also caters for Armenian students from Greece, Lebanon, Syria, the US, Canada, Bulgaria, Romania and Albania among others.

“They (the AGBU) say they have schools all over but we say it’s not that simple,” said Bohdjalian.

“Bringing kids from all these countries is giving them a unique education and credit is due to the government here because it does not interfere in the academic programme.”

I order to find an alternative to the possible closure of the school, the Armenian community, which numbers 3,000, is turning to the government for help.

When Cyprus signed the EU accession treaty, the government undertook to provide full education to minorities on the island. There are already a number of state-run elementary Armenian schools, but the Melkonian is the only secondary school for the community, although the government does give a £1,200 grant per pupil of Armenian origin to those who attend the Institute.

But Bohdjalian said the community was small and did not produce enough pupils to sustain the school. Since Armenian pupils from outside the capital find it difficult to travel the distance on a daily basis, the school depends on the Nicosia community.

Around 60-65 per cent of Armenian students in Nicosia attend the Melkonian, while another 25 per cent attend the English School and a smaller percentage are at other private schools.

Bohdjalian said a lot of Armenian parents now opted for having their children integrate more. The Melkonian has also opened up and has 15 Greek Cypriot pupils.

“Lots of people are hoping to get government approval, but Cyprus is going through a budget crisis right now,” said Bohdjalian. “The community is saying that if it’s the responsibility of the government to provide secondary education then the Melkonian is the most acceptable option and is cost effective for government. It is a tangible solution which is good both for the government and the school and more importantly it also keeps Cyprus on the regional map.”