Minister vows to prioritize Turkish language education

ANKARA

With the Education Ministry’s recent introduction of a requirement for students to attain a minimum score of 70 in the Turkish language course to pass and move up a higher grade, Minister Yusuf Tekin noted that the ministry will continue to prioritize to ensure that students learn their native language more effectively and accurately.

Tekin noted that the increase in the passing grade from 45 to 70 in the Turkish language course has drawn reactions from students, citing that many individuals in the country lack the ability to speak their first language with a rich vocabulary effectively, and the ministry introduced this change to address this issue.

Responding to claims of weak foreign language speaking level in the country, especially in English, Tekin pointed out that one who cannot speak their mother tongue proficiently would struggle to learn a foreign language.

"Is it reasonable to expect a child with a vocabulary of around 100 words in everyday language to converse in a foreign language with a vocabulary of 300-500 words? Therefore, our first desire is for our children and young people to enhance their native language skills. If we achieve this, not only will they excel in foreign languages, but they will also grasp their other subjects more easily," he explained.