Students of Fatih Schools take first place in LYS and TEOG exams

Students of the Fatih Schools network -- which are inspired by the faith-based Gülen movement -- popularly known as the Hizmet movement -- were the top scorers in both the Transition from Primary to Secondary Education (TEOG) exams taken from Nov. 26-27 and April 29-30 and the Undergraduate Placement Examination (LYS) taken between June 13-21 across Turkey, as well as taking other top scholastic prizes.

Students from Edirne Fatih Serhat High School who received high scores on the TEOG exam held in November pose together in this photo.

According to a June 30 announcement on the website of the Student Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM), in the first TEOG exam, 130 students from Fatih middle schools became TEOG exam champions by answering all the questions correctly, while 133 Fatih students missed only one question.

The second TEOG exam saw another 18 students of Fatih middle schools get a perfect score and 28 answer only one question incorrectly. Also according to the ÖSYM announcement, 53 Fatih college students were among the top 100 in the ranking of the LYS results, including Hakkı İsmail Korkmaz, a student of İstinye Fatih science high school, who ranked fifth. "I thank my family and teachers for their support. My advice to those who will prepare for the exam is that they determine their deficiencies and make their study program according to that," Korkmaz said.

Fatih high schools also have 22 students among those ranking in the top 100 of the Higher Education Exam (YGS) results.

Middle school students from Fatih Schools also won 12 medals -- four gold, two silver and six bronze -- in the Infomatrix International Project Competition of 2015.

Informatrix is an international computer project competition, born from a desire to bring the world's best IT students together. The competition is not just about promoting professional excellence; it also serves to promote intercultural dialogue and cooperation through the involvement of students and teachers from many different countries.

M. Ali Yıldırım, a student of İstanbul Fatih Science High School became the champion of the 19th Junior Balkan Mathematical Olympiad (JBMO), which took place in Belgrade, Serbia from June 24-29.

The JBMO aims to encourage mathematically gifted students in all participating countries, to foster friendly relations among the students and teachers attending the event and to create opportunities for the exchange of information between them.

Some private schools inspired by the Hizmet movement have being targeted by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and pro-government circles since Dec. 17, 2013, when a massive corruption scandal implicating highly placed AK Party figures became public. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accuses the Hizmet movement and its sympathizers in the state bureaucracy of being behind the Dec. 17 operation in an attempt to topple his government. The movement has strongly denied all the claims and President Erdoğan and the AK Party have yet to present any concrete evidence proving the accusations. Despite restrictions on their operations put in place the government and a smear campaign about the movement, the Hizmet-inspired schools and their students continue to enjoy success.

Published on Today's Zaman, 09 July 2015, Thursday