'They are settling accounts with the cultural revolution of the Republic'

Photo: Eğitim İş

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Coeducation has been targeted by the conservative circles in Turkey long since, and it once again was on the agenda following the statement that the new Education Minister Yusuf Tekin made last week.

Speaking on a live program on education issues at A Haber TV channel, the Minister said, "The first thing that the families who do not send their girls to school is that 'I do not want my girl to go to the same school with boys.' Coeducation is the rule but if it is necessary to open girls' schools, then they should be established." 

There have been reactions to the statement while support came to the Minister's statement from religious sects, the Free Cause party (HÜDA-PAR), and Mustafa Destici, the chairperson of the Great Unity Party (BBP). 

Following the reactions, Minister Tekin said that his statement was misunderstood, but the discussion is still continuing. 

We have spoken about the education and girls' schools discussions with Kadem Özbay, the President of the Education and Science Employees Union (Eğitim-İş). 

"Minister confesses that he is not doing his duty"

Özbay starts his words saying, "With the statement he makes, the Minister accepts that he is not fullfilling his responsibility," noting that the Ministry of National Education is obliged to do the follow up of the children who do not go to school, but that it does not fulfill this obligation. 

Özbay also mentioned that the number of girls and the number of boys who do not go to school are approximately equal and emphasized that a large portion of the children left out of chooling are working. 

"The number of boys and girls that do not go to school are the same"

Özbay told bianet that the Minister's statement is not reflecting the truth. 

"According to the 2022 September statistics of the Ministry of Education, there are around 6 million students at every grade. Again according to the same figures, 7-8 percent of these students are not attending school. This means that 500 thousand students are left out of schooling at each grade," said Özbay. 

He argued that there are as many boys who do not go to school, as the girls. It will be a mistake to see the problem as if only girls are not being sent to school. 

Even primary-school-age children are working, instead of going to school. Some are sent to the medreses of the religious sects. Not only girls, but boys also are sent to medreses, the union chairperson informs. 

"The real motive is hatred for the Republic"

"There is nothing in the statistics published by the Ministry of Education that shows that families are not sending their girls to school," Özbay says. 

"The real reason of these statements made against coeducation is the hatred for the Republic. There is a desire to settle accounts with the cultural revolution of the Republi," he adds. 

"Poverty is the most important reason"

Özbay says that the most important reason for children to be left out of schooling is poverty. Özbay mentions the number of students who are registered in open education high schools. 

"The students, who need to be at school, are working and they only go and take their exams. There are also Occupational Education Centers (MESEM). We also have many students here who in fact have to be at schools. The Ministry does not make the MESEM statistics public, so we do not know the number of children attending by age," Özbay told bianet. 

(RT/PE)