Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the Hizmet movement, commented on a National Security Council (MGK) document in 2004 that recommended an action plan against the Hizmet movement and was signed by the government.
Gülen described himself as “speechless” and expressed his disappointment. A secret national security document recently discovered by the Taraf daily has revealed that Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government signed on to a planned crackdown on the Hizmet movement. On Thursday, Taraf published the document in question. Prepared by the MGK and dated Aug. 25, 2004, it set out to persuade the government to implement a series of measures to curb the activities of the Gülen movement. It advised the government to take legal measures that would impose harsh penalties on Gülen-affiliated institutions. The revelation comes as the country debates a government plan to close Turkey's prep schools, many of which are affiliated with the Hizmet movement. Columnists discuss the MGK plan and the Turkish education system.
Zaman columnist Mustafa Ünal expresses his sorrow over the document, saying he wished the incident had never happened. If the government wants to show that that documents were false, it should cancel its plan to close the prep schools, which would be a sign that the government doesn't want to harm Gülen-affiliated institutions, Ünal writes.
According to Star columnist Eser Karakaş, while other countries are trying to solve critical problems in their education systems, Turkey has been busy with the closure of the prep schools -- which are private businesses. There are also critical problems in the current education system, says Karakaş, who provides some data released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). According to that data, the total number of hours per week students spend in the classroom has nothing to do with their success, and teacher competence play a greater role in student achievement than class size.
Published on Sunday's Zaman, 01 December 2013, Sunday
