November 18, 2013

Gülen appeals for steadfastness against gov't ban on prep schools

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has asked his followers to be resolute and not yield to despair in the face of a government attempt to shut down private educational institutions that assist students to prepare for high school and university admission examinations, which was interpreted as a major blow to the right to an education and to free enterprise in the EU-candidate country.

What lies beneath the prep-school row?

Sevgi Akarçeşme

Today's Zaman's headlines over the last couple of days on the government's plan to shut down the prep schools -- institutes called dershanes that help students prepare for Turkey's standardized high school and college entrance exams -- might seem insignificant and even irrelevant to a foreign observer. After all, why have a nationwide debate on something that doesn't seem to be a pressing issue for the country or the region?