Corruption prevails, education dies

Begüm Burak*

The prep school issue has been a litmus test indicating how political actors and politicians in Turkey have changed and also how they have been corrupted for over a decade. The draft plan aiming to close prep schools in Turkey has been dominating the agenda of the country for more than two weeks.

This issue has been treated by some observers as a "power struggle" between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Gülen-inspired Hizmet (service) movement, which represents a worldwide Islamic and civil movement aiming to contribute to intra-state and inter-state peace and stability through engagement in interfaith and intercultural dialogue.

Indeed, the prep school issue is not a problem that must urgently be eliminated, as the government argues. On the contrary, the prep school system is a panacea of the problems inherent in the national education system. Thus, closing prep schools has not just been condemned by “particular groups” (i.e., the Gülen movement) as the AK Party claims, but by almost all students, teachers and parents in Turkey along with the opposition parties.

The centralized exam system in Turkey, which consists of tests with multiple-choice questions, is first and foremost the reason for the necessity of prep schools. In Turkey, not only do educational differences among different regions of the country exist, but also the quality of schools even within the same city can lead to a considerable degree of unfairness. To put it more precisely, it can be said that a student going to a high school in Van with his/her 80 or 90 friends in the same class has to take the same exam with a student in İzmir who goes to a good high school with a total of 30 or 40 students in his/her class. Without prep schools, this kind of exam system undermines all chances for the poor and disadvantaged segments of society to pass university entrance exams.

What is tragic is that the prime minister is still determined to close prep schools without fixing the education system in a satisfactory way. Government spokesman Bülent Arınç has declared that by September 2015, the “transformation in the prep school system” (frankly speaking, we can say the "closing of prep schools") will be completed.

While the debates continue, the lead figures in the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), Selahattin Demirtaş and Gültan Kışanak, made speeches that obviously underline their plans and impatience to “educate” Turkey and, in their words, Kurdistan when the prep schools are closed.

Despite these provocative statements coming from BDP circles, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has kept his silence, though he did not hesitate to show an opposing deputy -- AK Party Kütahya deputy and academic İdris Bal -- the door. Over the weekend, Bal left the party on his own, saying that he will keep on telling the truth. Bal had put forward ideas that clashed with the AK Party and Erdoğan, particularly during the Gezi affair and regarding some aspects of Turkish foreign policy, and he was sent to the party discipline committee a few weeks ago. This example clearly reveals that intra-party democracy in the AK party is nonexistent and that a lack of pluralism is today cherished by Prime Minister Erdoğan, as this lack of pluralism serves his interest in becoming the "one man" for the party, government and state.

Indeed, since 2002, Turkey has witnessed hopeful developments like the removal of the ban on headscarves, the elimination of the student oath ("Andımız") and the opening of a Kurdish TV station (TRT 6). However, the straitjacket of Turkey, the 1982 Constitution, is still in use and the bureaucratic oligarchy is still powerful, striving to direct and manipulate elected governments. A 2004 National Security Council (MGK) document that was recently published by the Taraf daily is a clear example of this oligarchic hegemony. Moreover, the elected governments have generally had authoritarian tendencies toward opposing voices, although they claim to be democratic.

The political arena is getting more authoritarian and freedom of expression is being undermined. Despite the fact that even the figures in the AK Party are not keen on closing prep schools, somehow these institutions will all be closed in two years' time.

The important question is that although Turkey has so many other problems in furthering democratization and despite having enough of a majority to make more legal revisions with the aim of strengthening Turkish democracy and rule of law, why do the AK Party and Erdoğan keep insisting on closing prep schools without fixing the school system? Is it really a power struggle between the government and the Gülen movement? If so, why does a political party clash with a civilian movement despite the great help and support it had received from this movement? There is no need to be a conspiracy theorist to answer these questions, the answer is simple: Power corrupts, and only fruitful and friendly criticism can hinder such corruption. In this sense, the government should not ignore friendly criticism, and it should put an end to corruption; otherwise, education in Turkey will receive a deadly blow.

*Research assistant at Fatih University's department of political science and public administration.

Published on Sunday's Zaman, 08 December 2013, Sunday