Pro-AKP educational foundation, TÜGVA, penetrating into schools

A new step has been taken on behalf of the ongoing reactionary operations in schools
Saturday, 29 October 2016 06:16

A pro-AKP reactionary foundation, TÜGVA, starts to be active in some schools by the name Civilization and Thought Club (Medeniyet ve Düşünce Kulübü in Turkish).

Known as the sister foundation of the much-debated foundation TÜRGEV, Türkiye Gençlik Vakfı (TÜGVA – Youth Foundation of Turkey) penetrates into the Turkish schools by the name Civilization and Thought Club.

The foundation signed protocols with some of the provincial directorates of national education and started to engage in reactionary propaganda under the name of a club. The curriculum of the club includes topics like “Great Eastern thoughts and New Turkey ideals of the generation influenced by Necip Fazıl”, “the life of Sezai Karakoç and the guard duty for eternity of the resurrection generation”, “the morality discourse of Nurettin Topçu”, etc.

The authorities asked for teachers who teach religion and literature, and also who could adapt the “spirit of the protocol” to be assigned in Civilization and Thought Club.

REACTIONARY EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS IN TURKEY​

Reactionary educational foundations in Turkey play an important role in religionizing the education system and students. The pro-AKP foundations also hit the headlines with allegations of corruption.

One of the most known pro-AKP foundation, TÜRGEV, is managed by Bilal Erdoğan, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son, since 2012. TÜRGEV was said to be involved in December 17-25 corruption and bribery investigations, said to collect donations from big corporations willing to win the contracts of state-sponsored projects, and appropriate public property, but no legal sanctions were imposed.

This foundation also entered into an agreement with the Ministry of National Education, who allowed the foundation to host state-sponsored training classes. These classes have taken place in TÜRGEV dormitories and TÜRGEV has the authority to offer classes that are not specified in the protocol agreement.

TARGETING SECULAR EDUCATION​

Being one of the founding members of many reactionary foundations like Ensar Foundation and TÜRGEV, Voluntary Organizations Foundation of Turkey (Gönüllü Teşekküller Vakfı in Turkish) issued a press statement this summer and stated that “secularism is a concept that emerged against the hegemony of churches in Europe. European society was partially saved from church’s oppression. In our society there is no institution like church and no class of clergyman, what they needed is not a neccessity for us. We support our speaker of the Grand National Assembly on his thought that secularism should not be included in our constitution.