Education minister vows not to let mother tongue education lead to 'ghetto type' schools
ANKARA
"There will be no ghetto type schools that have nothing to do with Turkish and that are disconnected from Turkey’s general education," Education Minister Nabi Avcı has said. DHA photo
The government will not allow education in the mother tongue at private schools, which has been legalized as part of the recently announced democratization package, to lead to the formation of “ghetto type” schools, Education Minister Nabi Avcı said.“As some classes are being taught in English, French or German in some private schools at the moment, some classes will be given in Kurmanji [the most common Kurdish dialect in Turkey], Zazaki, Circassian, Lazuri [the language spoken by the Laz population of Anatolia], Bosnian or Arabic in these private schools. Nevertheless, a majority of the classes will be in Turkish,” Avcı told Anadolu Agency Oct.10, adding that all private schools providing education in languages other than Turkish would be under the supervision of the Ministry.
Clarifying the relevant part of the “democratization package” explained by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sept. 30, about allowing education in private schools in different languages, Avcı underlined that this did not mean that Turkish would not be a part of their curriculum.
“This is very necessary for our children. Because in the end, these children will find employment in Turkey, they will work, they will want to take up duties in institutions where Turkish is spoken,” Avcı said. “They must learn Turkish very well too. Or else, they will have difficulties in life. There will be no ghetto type schools that have nothing to do with Turkish and that are disconnected from Turkey’s general education,” he added.
First Lazuri class in Turkey’s Black Sea province
RİZE – Doğan News Agency
Students in the Black Sea province of Rize have attended their first elective Lazuri classes.The Muammer Çiçekoğlu and Aksu primary schools in Rize’s Fındıklı district have started offering elective Lazuri classes as part of the fifth and sixth grades’ curriculum. Some 77 students from both of the schools attended the first Lazuri class, which was also followed by the press. Basic Lazuri words, such as “Muçore” meaning “How are you,” were taught during the class.
The Turkish Education Board of the National Education Ministry included Lazuri in the “living languages and dialects” courses for middle schools.
Saffet Yıldırım, Rize’s national education director, said 77 students were going to attend the Lazuri classes for four hours a week, and the seventh and eighth grade students would also be able to attend the classes in the forthcoming semesters.
