Discrimination

Discrimination in Turkey’s Education System 49
At some schools the religion indicated on a student’s
identity card or that of their parents is not
considered sufficient for exemption from compulsory
RCaM lessons, and parents are asked to provide
documentation to prove their faith. Such a
problem was experienced at two schools in Izmir,
one a state school and one a private school. Even
though in both cases the students’ identity cards
stated that they were Christian, in order for them
to be given exemption from compulsory RCaM lessons
their parents were asked to provide a written
declaration that they were members of a church. It
was stated that this extended the exemption process,
and that during this time the students continued
to attend the compulsory RCaM lessons. 102
Here it is important to point out that being
forced to declare one’s religion in order to receive
exemption from religious teaching violates the
freedom of religion and conscience guaranteed
by the Constitution and international agreements.
The fact that the existing exemption mechanism
forces students to declare and even prove their
faith contravenes ECtHR rulings on the issue, as
well as the international standards outlined in the
first section of this report.
What do exempt students do during RCaM class
periods?
The way in which students who are exempt
from compulsory RCaM lessons spend their time
while other students are in class varies from
school to school. No general regulations have yet
been drawn up to determine how students should
use this class period or to provide them with an alternative
class. Until recently, students who were
exempt from this subject generally sat and waited
for their next lesson at the school canteen, in
the schoolyard or in the deputy head’s office. According
to one respondent, following an application
on this issue by the Association of Protestant
Churches, the MoNE sent schools a memorandum
102 Account given by a representative of the
Association of Protestant Churches at a workshop
held in Diyarbakır on 14 February 2015.
requesting that students who were exempt from
compulsory RCaM lessons be allowed to use the
school library during this class period and, particularly
in large cities, schools have complied
with this memorandum for the most part. 103 However,
it was also pointed out that this memorandum
had no positive effect at schools without a
library, and that students at such schools had no
choice but to wander the school corridors during
this class period. 104
Although this is rare, some schools allow students
to come to school at the end of the class if
compulsory RCaM lessons are held in the first period
of the day, or to leave school without attending
the RCaM course if it is held during the last class
period. 105 When compulsory RCaM lessons are
held during other class periods of the school day,
at most schools students who are exempt from this
course leave the classroom during the class period
of the lessons and spend their time elsewhere at
the school. However, at one school in Diyarbakır,
despite being exempt from compulsory RCaM lessons
the child of a priest was made to stay in the
classroom and thus to listen to information that
contradicted his beliefs. 106 During the lessons, this
student reportedly had to listen to negative statements
and false information about Christianity,
the faith to which he belongs, and that this situation
greatly upset him. 107
The fact that students who are exempt from
RCaM lessons are in a sense forced to wander the
school with nothing to do during these lessons
can also lead to these students being ‘exposed’
and suffering harassment. One teacher described
the treatment faced by Syriac students who were
exempt from this lesson:
103 Ibid.
104 Interview with a Christian spiritual leader,
Diyarbakır, 10 February 2015.
105 Interview with a representative of a Syriac NGO,
Midyat, 10 February 2015.
106 Interview with a church priest, Diyarbakır, 9
February 2015.
107 Ibid.