The Enlightenment Movement released a declaration against the anti-scientific curriculum of the Turkey's ruling AKP party and called for support from the citizens against the curriculum. Today, people supporting the declaration submitted their petitions in Ankara, İstanbul and İzmir.
The Enlightenment Movement saying "we are in the fight with AKP’s curriculum", also shared the findings of the analysis report conducted by educators about the new curriculum.
Speaking in front of the state council building in Ankara, Chairperson of the Association of Left Stance in Law, former reporter of the Constitutional Court of Turkey, Ali Rıza Aydın started his speech with saluting hunger-striking educators Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça.
Aydın described the curriculum of the academic year 2017-2018 as “a curriculum that leaves out scientific theories and data and brings in the abstract concept, and racist and sectarian ideas" He said they are analysing the new curriculum in detail and will file lawsuits against it everywhere in Turkey.
SoL columnist, author and translator Serpil Güvenç, former Republican People’s Party lawmaker and soL columnist Oğuz Oyan participated in the declaration in Ankara as well. The lawyer Ömer Faruk Eminağaoğlu and the President of Union of Educators (Eğit-Der) Mustafa Demir could not attend the declaration but passed their solidarity messages and said they will be part of the legal battle.
'IF IT WERE A PARTY PROGRAM, THAT PARTY WOULD HAVE BEEN CLOSED'
Emphasizing the nonconformance of the curriculum to the constitution, Mehmet Kuzulugil said "If it were a party program, that party would have been closed" in the declaration in Istanbul and gave examples from the analysis report prepared by educators.
Besides the TKP Central Committee member Aydemir Güler, academic Barış Zeren, actor Orhan Aydın, the old president of the 1st branch of the Union of Education and Science Workers (Eğitim İş) Ali Saraç, parents of the students and lawyers and educators from the Enlightenment Movement participated in the declaration in Istanbul.
'CURRICULUM IS FIGHTING NOT ONLY WITH LAICISM BUT ALSO WITH THE REALITY'
The common declaration given in all three cities points out that an unscientific content becomes the main rule in primary and secondary levels of mandatory education with this new curriculum. We are talking about a religious/sectarian content against laicism and completely away from reality, an Ottomanist content against the Republic in all classes from history to music, mathematics to physical sciences.
It becomes unavoidable to include clearly false information in biology once you leave out evolution. There is false information in biology textbooks because of this fight against evolution theory. We need to be concerned that the ones who avoid evolution theory as "just another theory" would prefer to hire prayers instead of doctors, phylacteries instead of health technicians in hospitals.
If the texts released as the new curriculum by the Ministry of Education were from a political party program, that party would have been closed because this content is against our constitution.
We have the following approach as the basis of our legal case against the curriculum, the declaration continued "the approach underlined in this curriculum is 'determining the education system based on national and moral values and interests'. This is not only against laicism but it is a fight against modern education, international values of humanity, science and the reality.
As the Enlightenment Movement, we are bringing this case in to attention of the public by submitting the first petitions in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir today. We are sharing the analysis report prepared by educators that reveals the severity of the problem. Our suggestion to the citizens is to organize public meetings everywhere in houses, cafeterias and public squares, and be part of the organized movement supporting the legal case against this curriculum."
