Ignoring public opposition, gov’t insists on closing prep schools

The Turkish deputy prime minister has said the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) will stick to its earlier plan to transform prep schools, known as dershanes, into private schools, and that it is preparing to submit its proposal to Parliament in January, despite strong public opposition.

Strong criticism and ensuing debates on the closure of prep schools aside, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç reframed the term as a “transformation” and not a “closure,” saying that the government remains committed to its plan to introduce a broader change to deal with the woes and inadequacies present within the education system.

Arınç laid out a timeframe for the government plan, and said dershanes are expected to complete the transformation by September 2015, in time for the beginning of the school year two years from now.

Striking a defiant tone, Arınç expressed his government's determination to continue with the plan, concluding that the current prep schools and study centers have two years for the necessary preparations to complete their transformation.

He also spoke on the government's plan to form a financial package that will assist some dershanes which comply with the requirements and conditions set by the Ministry of Education for the switch to a private school.

His insistence on distinguishing between “transformation” and “closure” commands attention as the Turkish deputy prime minister appears to have acknowledged that closing prep schools is against the constitutional right to free enterprise and therefore illegal. Instead of direct closure, Arınç once again underlined that the AK Party government aims to transform dershanes into private schools, an argument far from convincing given the fact that owners and educators view the transformation of prep schools as a dim prospect.

When asked about the right to free enterprise and whether such a move by the government would be overturned by the Constitutional Court, Arınç declined to comment. In the first part of his speech on prep schools, Arınç admitted that any closure is against the Constitution. He, therefore, insisted that the government's intention is not to shut down prep schools but to transform them.

As for recent reports of government profiling of some faith-based movements and social groups, Arınç again declined to comment. While Arınç has not denied the profiling, he instead threatened the journalist who revealed documents suggesting that the AK Party government profiled a large number of individuals whom it believed to be followers of certain religious and faith-based groups and monitored their activities up until 2013.

According to the report by Taraf daily's Mehmet Baransu, the profiling of individuals did not end in 2010, as previously claimed, but continued between 2011 and 2013. Those mainly profiled are reportedly followers of Hizmet, a faith-based movement inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. The daily also claimed that other religious groups that voiced criticism or disapproval of the government's activities were also profiled, mainly civil servants or those who planned or hoped to be employed in a state post.

Arınç said publishing classified documents of National Security Council (MGK) meetings constitutes a serious crime under the law. He threatened possible government action if the journalist keeps publishing similar documents on the content of MGK meetings under the AK Party administration.

Published on Today's Zaman, 02 December 2013, Monday