AK Party’s Deputy Günay joins intra-party opposition to prep school ban

AK Party İzmir deputy Ertuğrul Günay (Photo: Today's Zaman)
AK Party İzmir deputy Ertuğrul Günay (Photo: Today's Zaman)


Date posted: November 22, 2013

Another deputy from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has criticized a recent government plan to shut down prep schools, saying that these institutions are not the cause of problems in the education system but a consequence of the current system.

AK Party İzmir deputy and former Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay has said discussing the country’s problems while disregarding root causes creates more problems rather than bringing about a solution.

“We offended the youth who stay in student houses as well as their families with discourse that cast doubt on students staying in these houses instead of seeing addressing deficiencies in dormitories. The same thing happened with the prep school issue. Of course, nobody can defend the existence of prep schools forever. However, prep schools are the result of today’s education system,” Günay tweeted on Friday.

Stating that bringing the closure of prep schools to the agenda before discussing flaws in the education system is perceived as addressing the result of a problem instead of its cause, Günay said this approach leads to misunderstandings. “And when such issues are brought to the agenda without being shared [with other parties] and sanctions are imposed without letting counter arguments be made, democracy does not improve,” he added.

Günay’s remarks come one day after the AK Party referred Kütahya deputy İdris Bal to the party’s disciplinary board for expulsion after he opposed the government’s planned closure of prep schools.

A statement released by the AK Party on Thursday said that Bal was referred to the disciplinary board on the grounds of “giving speeches that conflict with party politics.”

Kütahya deputy Bal last week tweeted his opinion that prep schools serve an important purpose in leveling educational disparities. In another tweet he added: “A private company cannot be opened or shut down under orders. As the market will not work as per orders, this structure will continue underground.”

Some other AK Party deputies have also raised their voices against the government plan to shut down prep schools. Two deputies have rallied against the draft law, claiming that it would violate the right to free enterprise and the right to an education.

AK Party Karaman deputy Mevlüt Akgün said he stands behind his earlier promise that he will vote “no” on the bill to close prep schools, stressing that forcibly shutting down these education centers would be in violation of the constitution.

AK Party Manisa lawmaker Muzaffer Yurttaş also voiced similar concerns, saying that prep schools greatly improve students’ education.

Source: Today's Zaman , November 22, 2013


Related News

Turkish police brutally torture suspect over Gulen links

One of the most torture incidents reported province is Afyon in Turkey. Afyon Police brutally tortures suspects over Gulen links. One of the victims who is a teacher in this video tells about tortures he went through.

The tragic end of the witch hunt

Several claims and accusations have been voiced, and the Hizmet movement has been described as a gang and a “parallel structure,” Are these accusations based on concrete evidence? No. Fabricated news published by pro-government media outlets, unfounded accusations and slanderous claims that are legally null and void have been refuted one by one. However, the pro-government media does not care about this, since they do not care in the least about rights or the rule of law.

11th Int’l Turkish Olympiads kick off in İstanbul

The 11th International Turkish Olympiads, which is a festival celebrating the Turkish language and brings together 2,000 students from 140 countries this year, began in İstanbul on Wednesday. The event began with a news conference held in Atatürk Olympic Stadium attended by the Turkish deputy parliamentary speaker and International Turkish Language Olympiads organizing committee chairman, […]

Islamic scholar Gülen sues interior minister over coup accusation

“Making efforts to set people up against one another and stir hostility by expressing those words is a behavior morally unacceptable,” lawyer Nurullah Albayrak said.

Turkish Olympiads close with perfect ceremony

A spectacular closing ceremony at İstanbul Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadium in front of 200,000 spectators for the 11th Turkish Language Olympiads has left bittersweet memories, signaling the end of a two-week festival full of poetry, dance, Turkish culture and music. Participants, who came from 130 countries, in this year’s competition wrapped up the two-week long finals […]

ABA urges Obama to protest Turkey’s suppression of free speech

On September 1, the American Booksellers Association joined American publishers, authors, and librarians in a letter urging President Obama to protest the widespread suppression of free speech in Turkey during his September 4 meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan in China.

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

A Case for Why Gulen Would Never Support a Coup

Turkish schools open up trade channels too

Fethullah Gülen: Turkey is being dragged into a civil war

Turkey’s Erdogan Is Already Making the Most of His ‘Gift From Heaven’ After Coup Attempt

US Unlikely to ‘Speed Up’ Gulen’s Extradition to Turkey

By Extraditing Anti-Erdogan Leader, Trump Would Betray American Values

Opposition does not believe Gulen movement was behind the coup attempt

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News