‘No language other than Turkish shall be taught,’ says Education Minister

* Photo: AA

Click to read the article in Turkish

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Siirt MP Sıdık Taş addressed a Parliamentary question to Minister of National Education Ziya Selçuk on February 21 International Mother Language Day and asked the Minister a series of questions about education in the mother language.

Minister Ziya Selçuk has answered the question of the MP. Referring to the Article 42 of Turkey's Constitution on "Right and duty of education", Minister has said, "No language other than Turkish shall be taught as a mother tongue to Turkish citizens at any institution of education."

As reported by Mezopotamya Agency (MA), HDP MP Taş underlined in his Parliamentary question that several languages across the world are endangered and reminded the Minister that UNESCO declared February 21 as the International Mother Language Day.

Stressing that education in the mother language is a universal right, the MP has noted that Kurdish and Turkish can live together.

Accordingly, MP Taş asked the Minister of Education a series of questions, including: "What works are undertaken by your ministry to ensure the exercise of the right to education in mother language? Will the right to education in mother language be guaranteed by the Constitution?"

In his answer to the question, Minister of National Education Selçuk stated that "undertaking any works for education in mother language is out of the question" as per the related article of the Constitution.

Titled "Right and duty of education", the Article 42 of the Constitution says, "No language other than Turkish shall be taught as a mother tongue to Turkish citizens at any institution of education. Foreign languages to be taught in institutions of education and the rules to be followed by schools conducting education in a foreign language shall be determined by law. The provisions of international treaties are reserved." (SO/SD)