Behind the war over prep schools [in Turkey]

Mustafa Akyol: The government has the right to do anything it wants with its bureaucracy, and is most welcome to improve its own school system. Yet, it should not touch the institutions of society. Hence, prep schools, like all other private enterprises, should be left alone.
Mustafa Akyol: The government has the right to do anything it wants with its bureaucracy, and is most welcome to improve its own school system. Yet, it should not touch the institutions of society. Hence, prep schools, like all other private enterprises, should be left alone.


Date posted: November 15, 2013

One of the latest political controversies in Turkey is about the government’s plan to close (or “transform”) the so-called prep schools. But do not be misled by the tip of the iceberg: This is an issue that goes way beyond matters of education, and rather unveils the silent conflict between the government and one of Turkey’s most influential civil society groups.

First, let me explain what “prep schools” are. Known as “dershane” in Turkish, which literally means “home of classes,” these are private courses that provide additional education to high school students.

This additional training is specifically designed to prepare students for the “university exam,” which is a central, national test that every applicant to Turkish universities must go through. Since getting high scores in this crucial test is the key to enter good universities, preparation for them is a burning need, and prep schools emerged as a market mechanism to offer a supply to this demand. Typically, they operate in the weekends to further educate students who go to their high schools during the week.

Yet there is more than what meets the eye: A considerable portion of these prep schools are operated by the followers of Fethullah Gülen, a Muslim spiritual leader who now lives in the United States.

“Education” has been the key mission of the movement and they have opened many “dershanes” along with regular schools. Of course, not every student of these institutions ends up being a follower of the moral teachings of Mr. Gülen, but some of them do. That is why it is long believed that prep schools opened by the Gülen Movement are, in part, fertile ground to gain new members or sympathizers.

Of course, in any free society, this should be all normal and free – regardless of what you think about the Gülen Movement and other owners of prep schools. (Catholic orders and Protestant denominations, too, have zillions of educational institutions.) If the prep schools disappear, this should be due to a decline in the demand for them. The market, in other words, should work without interruption.

Turkey’s ever-interrupting state, however, does not seem to agree. It was Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan, who, about a year ago, said suddenly that “the prep schools will be closed.” And this week, daily Zaman, the media flagship of the Gülen Movement, ran a story that revealed a draft law prepared by the Ministry of Education. According to Zaman, the law aims to close all prep schools beginning with the next school year, while imposing heavy fines on those who continue to operate. The Ministry of Education denied that there will be fines, but still noted that all prep schools will be “transformed into private schools.”

Notably, all this comes while the tension between the government, especially Erdoğan himself, and the Gülen Movement is deepening. In fact, both groups form part of the “religious conservatives,” and used to be allies against the old secularist guard. However, their differences have become increasingly pronounced and have resulted recently in an increasingly bitter war of words.

What matters most for me are the principles of liberal democracy. The government has the right to do anything it wants with its bureaucracy, and is most welcome to improve its own school system. Yet, it should not touch the institutions of society. Hence, prep schools, like all other private enterprises, should be left alone.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News , November/16/2013


Related News

People overwhelmingly support democracy as answer to Kurdish issue

About 90 percent of the Turkish public believe the Kurdish question cannot be settled through military means but by democratization, and that expanding cultural rights and negotiating are the answers that will finally produce a settlement for Turkey’s decades-long problem with separatist terrorism, according to a recent survey conducted by pollster MetroPOLL.

If whoever touched Gülen was doomed, we would have been ashes by now

“If whoever touches him is screwed, it should have been me who would have gotten screwed first; I should have been in ashes by now because I have published the harshest material against Gülen. I have published the most derogatory books against him.”

Abant Platform on Africa

For three days I will be away from Turkey’s increasingly suffocating internal politics. For this reason alone I am grateful to the Journalists and Writers Foundation, organizer of the Abant Platform on Africa. I think this three-day event will, among other things, show us, Turks, that there is a huge world outside Turkey and that we need to […]

Police, inspectors raid Gülen-inspired schools in Manisa for 3rd time

Police officers and inspectors from 15 government agencies have raided Gülen-inspired private schools in the western province of Manisa for the third time, as part of a government-orchestrated operation targeting the faith-based Gülen movement, popularly known as the Hizmet movement.

Turkish nationals in South Africa fear abductions

“Yesterday we were sitting together, today they call us terrorists. Immediately overnight they changed.” A conspicuously distressed Turkish national uttered these words during an interview with The Star at the Nizamiye Mosque Complex in Midrand.

Gülen’s Dialogue on Education: A Caravanserai of Ideas

Professor Tom Gage portrays eight modern educators and the development of their theories viewed from personal, cultural, and historical perspectives. He links their ideas to those of Fethullah Gülen, a highly influential educator of today who draws on an entirely different tradition.

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

Mr. Minister, please look at yourself in the mirror

Symposium concludes: Hizmet movement contributes to world peace

Kimse Yok Mu hosts international experts for social media benefits conference

TAA refutes claim tying US genocide resolution to Hizmet

US Human Rights Report: Tens of thousands jailed in Turkey with little clarity on charges

American reporters got an intriguing glimpse into the political mind-set in Turkey

Number of Kimse Yok Mu volunteers triple

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News