Discrimination

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Discrimination in Turkey’s Education System 11 ‘4+4+4’, which divided basic education into three stages: four years of primary, four years of secondary and four years high of school education. Religion and religious references started to feature more strongly in the education system than ever before. A range of new problems were created by the fact that elective courses related to religion have been added to the curriculum and are taught as compulsory courses in many schools, and questions related to the compulsory Religious Culture and Morals course have been added to the Transition from Primary to Secondary Education (TEOG) placement exam. Living Languages and Dialects elective courses have been added to the curriculum, but major problems have been encountered in the procuring of materials and teachers needed to run these courses. There is no effective application of the principle of participation in the development of policies related to the education system, nor is this principle fully applied in terms of who participates in meetings of the National Education Council, a body that makes advisory decisions on issues related to education and constitutes the most important mechanism through which the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) consults Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and experts. 2 Furthermore, democratic participation is not fully applied in the decision-making processes of the Council, since 2 For the Education Reform Initiative evaluation of the 19 th National Education Council (held in December 2014) and the issue of participation see ‘19. Milli Eğitim Şûrasına ilişkin Değerlendirme,’ http://erg.sabanciuniv.edu/sites/erg.sabanciuniv. edu/files/19.Milli.Egitim.Surasina.Iliskin. Degerlendirme_BN_28012015.pdf. The question of who participates in National Education Council meetings is of great importance in terms of the decisions that are made. In the 2010 National Education Council, the percentage of Council members appointed by the Ministry of National Education rose from 60 to 75 per cent. See Aytuğ Şaşmaz, ‘4+4+4: Bir Toplama Değil, Çarp(ıt)ma İşlemi,’ http://tr.boell.org/tr/2014/06/16/444-birtoplama-degil-carpitma-islemi the government can choose from and implement certain decisions made during National Education Council meetings according to its own priorities. The aim of this report is to present a general overview of discrimination based on colour, ethnic origin, language, religion and belief experienced by students in the formal education system, particularly during the 2014-15 academic year, to show the general issues that exist regarding inequality and forms of discrimination that exist within the education system. Also, the report discusses the steps that need to be taken to end this discrimination. The report consists of an introduction, three main sections and a conclusion, which includes an overall evaluation and recommendations. In order to identify the forms of discrimination based on colour, ethnic origin, language, religion and belief experienced by students in Turkey’s formal education system, and to highlight the state’s responsibility in this regard, it is critical to be aware and informed of international standards and agreements in terms of the right to education and ways to prevent discrimination, and Turkey’s legal obligations in this area must also be taken into account. As such, the first section of the report focuses on an evaluation of international standards and legislation in the fields of the right to education and the prevention of discrimination. This first section, entitled ‘International Standards – Turkey’s Obligations’, looks at the ways in which the right to education, a fundamental human right, appears in international legislation, and it examines international standards under the sub-headings ‘The right to access to education’, ‘Rights related to one’s mother tongue and education’, ‘Rights related to religion, belief and education’, and ‘Pluralism in the curriculum and textbooks’. This section also offers definitions of terms used to describe forms of discrimination, such as direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, discrimination by association, harassment, discrimination by perception, and victimization. The second section of the report, entitled ‘The Aim of Education, Curriculum and Textbooks’,
12 Discrimination in Turkey’s Education System calls into question the ‘ideological’ aim of education as set out in legal texts such as the Constitution and the Basic Law of National Education, and it looks at the ways in which groups that are not included within the definition of ‘Turkish’ and ‘national’ are portrayed in the curriculum and textbooks. The third section of the report, ‘Forms of Discrimination/Discriminatory Practices in Turkey’s Education System’, looks at discrimination experienced by students in the formal education system on the basis of language, religion and beliefs, as well as colour and ethnic origin, in relation to existing legislation and practices. This section includes observations and analyses based on reports prepared by members of the Monitoring Discrimination in Education Network, information shared during the network’s workshops, individual interviews, newspaper articles, and reports published by NGOs. The final section of the report, entitled ‘Evaluations and Recommendations’, provides a general evaluation of the kinds of discrimination based on ethnic origin, colour, language, religion and beliefs experienced by primary, middle and high school students in Turkey’s formal education system, as perpetrated by school administrations, teachers and other students, and offers concrete recommendations for steps to prevent discrimination in education and bring about equality.
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Nurcan Kaya is a jurist specializin
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Discrimination

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