Prep school debate [in Turkey] continues

TUĞBA AYDIN
TUĞBA AYDIN


Date posted: November 22, 2013

Tugba Aydin

The government plan to close down prep schools continues to remain a hot topic in the country.

In the latest development in the debate, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) referred its Kütahya deputy İdris Bal — who opposes the government’s planned closure of the prep schools — to the party’s disciplinary board for expulsion on Thursday. A statement released by the AK Party said that Bal was referred to the disciplinary board on the grounds that he gave “speeches that conflict with party politics,” implying that it may have been due to tweets made by Bal last week.

According to Bugün columnist Adem Yavuz Arslan, some newspapers, such as Akit, use very harsh language against the Hizmet movement in the prep school debate. Arslan wrote that newspapers are free to criticize things, but the criticism cannot be made as a form of revenge. The right to open a prep school is a democratic right, Arslan said. He said he does not think that members of the Hizmet movement are rising up against the government, as some suggest, but that they are only trying to express that it is wrong to close the prep schools.

Kütahya deputy Bal last Thursday tweeted his opinion that prep schools serve an important purpose in leveling out disparities in the quality of education. In another tweet, he added: “A private company cannot be opened or shut down on orders. Because the market does not operate according to orders, this system will continue underground.” Columnists shared their views on the prep school debate.

Zaman’s Mustafa Ünal said that politicians cannot remain indifferent to what the public wants and he believes that the government will lend an ear to what people think on the prep school issue and make their final decision accordingly, even though the government has shown its resolution in closing the prep schools.

Source: Today's Zaman , November 22, 2013


Related News

Turkey’s anti-Gulen campaign: Strengthening militants and jihadists

The dilemma for the Pakistani government is stark. Turkish prime minister Binali Yildirim has warned that Turkey would be at war with any country that cooperates or aids the Gulen movement. Yet closing down schools that prepare their students for a modern society and economy is something Pakistan’s deeply troubled education sector can ill afford.

On front lines of fight for press freedom in Turkey

“I’m happy to be a journalist despite all the stress and pressure we’ve been under from the government,” Akarcesme said last Tuesday during a visit to the newspaper’s offices by group of Capital Region journalists and academics led by the Turkish Cultural Center of Albany.

Today is another Human Rights Day, but atrocities persist | Opinion

One such case is the experience of thousands of Turkish people under the Erdogan regime after the failed coup attempt in July 2016. Soon after the coup attempt, Erdogan’s regime launched a crackdown on opponents and critics, detaining thousands of journalists, rights activists, lawyers, teachers and writers for their alleged involvement in anti-state activities.

Thai Minister asks Turkish investors to invest more in education in Thailand

Winners at various International Science Olympiads from Turkish schools in Thailand paid a visit to Science and Technology Minister Peerapan Palusuk. The minister asked Turkish entrepreneurs to invest more in education sector in his country. Turkish schools’ students in Thailand have been representing the country successfully at International Science Olympiads. Students from Chindamanee School, Siriwat […]

Turkish school to open many new branches in Egypt

The Turkish school, which is regarded as one of the best schools in Egypt, currently has two branches in Cairo and Beni Suef with 1000 students. Turkish Salahaldin International School plans to open ten new branches within three years in Egypt, the school’s director general has said. The Turkish school, which is regarded as one […]

State discrimination against Hizmet movement sympathizers

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government is aiming to take all steps to finish off Hizmet movement sympathizers by any means. Discrimination is one of these steps. Discrimination is a human rights violation. I would like to share five of my personal experiences, of many more, to show what kind of discrimination is being committed against the movement’s sympathizers.

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Turkey’s Unethical Interference in American (Muslim) Civic Society is Dangerous

Pro-Rashid Dostum Afghan security forces raided Afghan-Turk Boys High School in Shibirghan

Gulen’s Outreach for Alevis

The Turkish connection in India

Education remains an alarming concern for scores of Syrian refugees

Five pilots who bombed coup base on July 15 arrested over Gulen links

Conceptual contradictions when it comes to rhetoric about ‘parallel state’

Copyright 2024 Hizmet News