Azerbaijan, Baku, September 2 / Trend M. Aliyev /
The Congress of Azerbaijanis in Georgia (CAG) has appealed to the Georgian Ministry of Education and Science to declare school holidays that observe Muslim festivities ahead of the new school year, CAG has told Trend.
CAG chairman Ali Babayev said that the Georgian Ministry of Education and Science must take into account Muslims when it mandates school holidays during Easter.
Up to 800,000 Muslims live in Georgia, a majority Christian state.
"The Congress appealed to Minister of Education and Science Dmitri Shashkin to clarify this issue. The Congress respects Christian holidays, but believes that while declaring holidays during Easter, the rights of the Muslim population of the country must be taken into account," Babayev said.
The new school year in Georgia, set to begin Sept. 15, will be divided into two semesters. Besides holidays between semesters, students will have days off during Easter.