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

Turks, Rio de Janeiro gov’t sign agreement to further education efforts in Brazil

The Brazilian-Turkish Cultural Center (CCBT) and the Rio de Janeiro state government signed an education cooperation agreement on Tuesday paving the way for the establishment of a long-anticipated “Brazil-Turkey Intercultural High School” by Turkish entrepreneurs sympathetic to the faith-based Gülen movement in Duque de Caxias, a city in southeast Brazil.

Gülen to file lawsuit against PM Erdoğan over defamation campaign

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen plans to file a lawsuit against Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for an endless smear campaign and slander, accusing Erdoğan of pursuing a concerted effort to foment animosity and hatred in society through the use of hate speech in rallies, meetings and TV interviews, Gülen’s lawyer said late on Friday.

Separation politics and Islam makes Gülen AKP’s enemy

“The Gülen Movement is faith inspired in its motivation, but faith neutral in its manifestation.” That is how key speaker Ozcan Keles, chairperson of Dialogue Society in London, characterized the Gülen Movement in a panel discussion on the Hizmet Movement Tuesday in the European Parliament.

Turkey’s Corruption Probe, And One Question For Erdogan

Figures close to the leading Justice and Development Party (AKP), including sons of cabinet members, are facing serious allegations of bribery and money laundering. The government is denying all accusations and claims the charges are part of a conspiracy with roots both foreign and domestic.

Tears and sadness as Turkish people pack up to leave Pakistan

“I know I can’t do anything to persuade the federal government to take back its decision of expelling the Turkish teachers and their families from the country,” a senior Pakistani teacher told PTI. “I must say last Friday was the saddest day in our campus in Lahore as all Turkish students were literally crying,” she said.

Purge-victim businessman dies of cancer days after being released from prison

Engin Erol, 41, a Turkish businessman who was jailed three years ago on allegations of membership in the Gülen group, died on Thursday evening in a hospital from cancer, which was not treated properly in the prison where he was held until the last stage of his illness.

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

Renowned Kurdish singer Sivan Perwer lauds Gülen’s support for peace process

Lawyer put behind bars along with 3-month-old baby

Lynching campaign: Democratic stance of Zaman and Today’s Zaman

Minister thankful to Fethullah Gulen for backing the peace process

WikiLeaks reveals emails from the son-in-law of President Erdogan, ‘proving his connection to ISIS operation smuggling oil into Turkey’

Legal action against Gülen in the US: A golden opportunity for Gülen

EC official: Turkey should address issues within limits of rule of law

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News