Private schools leave mark on Science Olympiad


Date posted: May 6, 2015

İzmir’s private Yamanlar, Ankara’s private Samanyolu and İstanbul’s Fatih colleges all left their mark on the 20th National Antalya Mathematics Science Olympiad, organized for primary and secondary schools by Akdeniz University and held on May 3 and 4.

Yamanlar College ranked first among all competing schools, winning five gold medals, six silver and eight bronze. Attended by 700 students across the country, Samanyolu College won four gold and two silver medals, while Fatih College followed Samanyolu with two gold medals, one silver and one bronze in the math olympiad.

Akdeniz University Rector İsrafil Kurtcephe and İlham Aliyev, the university’s foreman, gave out the medals at the competition’s award ceremony, which took place at the university.

Yüksel Demir, one of the teachers of the winning students, said at the ceremony that these students are also representing Turkey abroad at the national team and they are also winners of numerous similar competitions organized by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK). He added: “I congratulate all of them on their achievements.”

However, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has conducted a smear campaign against the private schools on the grounds that they are linked to the Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement, which is inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. Erdoğan has falsely accused the movement of plotting against and trying to bring down himself and the government.

Erdoğan has claimed that the movement is behind the revelation of the Dec. 17, 2013 graft scandal, which implicated high-ranking government officials, former ministers and Erdoğan’s inner circle, and launched a witch-hunt to eliminate all institutions linked to the movement.

Numerous foreign countries also host Turkish schools affiliated with the Gülen movement and Erdoğan’s repeated calls for the closure of these foreign schools have fallen on deaf ears and been rejected.

Erdoğan’s unrelenting denunciation of such schools and calls over the past two years for their break up are yet to yield any results. The schools are considered a source of national pride because of their contribution to improved educational chances to students in many countries such as Africa and Central Asia.

Source: Today's Zaman , May 06, 2015


Related News

Minister Yazici Visits Kazakh-Turkish High School

Customs and Trade Minister Hayati Yazici visited the local Nurorda International Kazakh-Turkish High School besides his official visits on day-two of his Astana itinerary. As a part of his agenda, Hayati Yazici hosted by the Kazakh Finance Minister Bolat Jamisev, met with the Turkish businessmen engaged in Kazakhstan at Rixos President Hotel on June 21. […]

Pro-gov’t daily: Turkey, Russia could conduct joint operation to abduct Gülen

Turkey and Russia could carry out a joint operation to abduct US-based Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen to Turkey due to Gülen’s alleged role in the assassination of a Russian ambassador in December 2016 as well as a failed coup attempt in Turkey in July 2016, the pro-government Akşam daily reported.

Prep school debate [in Turkey] continues

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.

Georgia revokes decision to freeze Gulen-linked university’s student intake

The Georgian regulatory body for quality in education on Saturday revoked a controversial decision to bar a Tbilisi university from accepting new students for a period of one year.

Samanyolu news faces cyber attack from abroad

On Thursday night Samanyolu Haber TV news channel was the latest to face a cyber attack, as readers have at times also recently been unable to access the websites of the dailies Zaman, Today’s Zaman and Taraf, as well as the Cihan news agency, particularly since the night of the local elections on March 30.

Current defamation campaign against Hizmet was part of Ergenekon scheme

A major campaign launched by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and media organs to defame and discredit the Hizmet movement was among the plans of the Ergenekon network, which once attempted a coup d’état against the AK Party.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

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

In Case You Missed It

Reps urge Federal Govt to intervene in Nigerian students’ detention in Turkey

Erdoğan’s fight against education in Africa

Man abducted by Turkish intel exposes torture during 9-month enforced disappearance

‘Mr. Gülen is to me simultaneously both incredibly modest and a visionary’

60-year old man covers 309 km in 17 days to protest son’s arrest on coup charges

Pineapple republic!

Jailed teacher dies of cancer in Turkish prison

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News