Parents seek TL 40,000 in damages for violation of students’ educational rights

İsmail Topçuoğlu is seeking TL 40,000 in damages from the Education Ministry for violating students' educational rights. (Photo: Cihan)
İsmail Topçuoğlu is seeking TL 40,000 in damages from the Education Ministry for violating students' educational rights. (Photo: Cihan)


Date posted: August 31, 2015

AYŞENUR PARILDAK / ANKARA

Parents İsmail and Seval Topçuoğlu are seeking TL 40,000 in damages from the Education Ministry for violating students’ educational rights by adopting a new regulation about dershanes (prep schools), claiming it aims to bypass a top court’s ruling to annul a controversial law to close down the schools.

The claimants said in their petition recently submitted to the Ankara Provincial Directorate for National Education, “Benefiting from the education services provided by private enterprises is part of the educational rights guaranteed in Article 42 of the Constitution.” They also emphasized that students’ parents have the freedom to choose where their children are to be educated and neither the government nor any other powers can restrict that right.

The parents say they will also file a criminal complaint with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office over the Ministry of Education not implementing the top court’s ruling on prep schools.

Mehmet Kasap, a lawyer representing the Pak Education and Science Employees Union (Pak Eğitim-İş), told Today’s Zaman on Monday: “In the event that the dershane issue cannot be solved locally, we will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights [ECtHR] for both violating educational rights and for not implementing the top court’s ruling. Our country [government] will then have to pay millions in compensation.”

The Constitutional Court on July 13 annulled a controversial law that ordered the closure or conversion of all prep schools to ordinary schools by Sept. 1 with a majority vote of 12-to-five. Soon after the ruling, Ministry of Education officials made statements that the continued operation of prep schools is still not legally possible because of a new ministry regulation in which all the articles related to the establishment of prep schools were eliminated.

Speaking to the press on Aug. 7, Education Minister Nabi Avcı announced that current prep schools can continue to operate under a new name and offer “private educational courses” if they meet the requirements stated in the regulation.

Giving details about the operation of those new private educational courses, Avcı said: “The classroom size for those private educational courses that will provide education in three groups of science [math, science and social sciences] must not exceed 16. Every student will attend those courses based on their age group. Those prep courses that have not yet applied to convert to actual high schools will have to apply [for the conversion courses] before Sept. 1.”

He also said prep schools will need a new license from the ministry in order to be able to offer these private educational courses. A number of educators regard this as the government’s attempt to prevent Gülen-inspired prep schools from operating.

The law ordering the closure of dershanes was widely seen as part of the Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) witch hunt against the Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement, a civil society initiative inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen that focuses on education and interfaith dialogue. Gülen became the target of the AK Party following the eruption of a corruption scandal in December 2013 in which senior government members were implicated. Then-Prime Minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused the movement of masterminding the probe in an attempt to topple the government and has since targeted those who are inspired by Gülen’s ideas.

The law ordering the closure of dershanes was widely seen as part of the Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) witch hunt against the Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement, a civil society initiative inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen that focuses on education and interfaith dialogue. Gülen became the target of the AK Party following the eruption of a corruption scandal in December 2013 in which senior government members were implicated. Then-Prime Minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused the movement of masterminding the probe to topple the government and has since targeted those who are inspired by Gülen’s ideas.

Source: Today's Zaman , August 31, 2015


Related News

Turkey’s first private Arabic station starts to broadcast

Hira TV will also feature Samanyolu TV, which has been broadcasting programs in Arabic for almost 20 years. Hira TV CEO Yusuf Acar said the new channel’s target audience is families, adding: “Through cultural and scientific TV programs, we will appeal to all Arab people, including both children and adults. In addition, we will broadcast lectures from Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish-Islamic scholar.”

Experts speak on role of digital media in society in İstanbul

The Medialog Platform brought together academics and communication experts from different parts of the region surrounding Turkey in İstanbul on Friday for their second International Communication Conference, to discuss the impact of social media on politics and social movements.

Cancer patient arrested over Gülen links deteriorates to stage 4 in one month

Fatma Aşkın, a breast cancer patient who was arrested on Feb.14 in the southeastern Turkish province of Gaziantep due to her alleged links to the Gülen movement, has experienced a spread of the disease during her one-month stay in prison and has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.

‘Parallel’ lies won’t patch giant tear, Gülen tells government

Turkish Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gülen has decried recent claims by the government and the president that his followers are behind recent violent street protests in Turkey, indicating that the government is attempting to patch up a “giant tear” it has made with these claims in an effort he said is bound to fail.

Ministry dismisses honorary consuls, allegedly for ‘Hizmet’ affiliation

The Turkish Foreign Ministry did not renew honorary consuls’ certificates due to their affiliation with the Hizmet movement, Turkish media reported.

Fethullah Gulen: Turkey’s Eroding Democracy (op-ed in NY Times)

It is deeply disappointing to see what has become of Turkey in the last few years. Not long ago, it was the envy of Muslim-majority countries: a viable candidate for the European Union on its path to becoming a functioning democracy that upholds universal human rights, gender equality, the rule of law and the rights of Kurdish and non-Muslim citizens.

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

Defending Hizmet

Embrace Relief Worldwide Qurban (Feast of Sacrifice) Campaign

UN asks Turkey to compensate businessman arrested in post-coup crackdown

A Turkish Recluse Bridges the Western and Muslim Worlds

Gov’t targets Hizmet to distract attention from corruption, says director

Toward an Islamic Enlightenment: The Gulen Movement (Book Review)

Fethullah Gülen: Even democracy needs a metaphysical dimension

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News