Education minister rules out talks with CHP counterpart

ANKARA

Education Minister Yusuf Tekin said on July 5 that he would refuse meetings with individuals holding the title of "shadow minister" amid ongoing discussions between various ministers and their counterparts from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

"I am disturbed by the tendency of this concept of shadow minister to turn into a tutelage. I would not give an appointment to someone who asks for an appointment with such a title," Tekin told daily Milliyet during an interview.

His comments come at a time when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and CHP leader Özgür Özel have initiated a series of engagements, leading to meetings between the government and CHP's "shadow ministers."

"If a representative of any political party asks for an appointment, I will give it, but if they want to turn me into a part of the instruments they use in the struggle for power within their party, I am not in that business," Tekin said.

Suat Özçağdaş, the CHP's deputy leader in charge of education, told reporters on July 3 that he had not requested an appointment with Tekin.

He announced plans for a "24-hour press statement" to address issues in education, including a newly adopted curriculum and a teaching profession law currently being debated in parliament.

Many experts, from academics to union representatives, will participate in the press statement in a public space, Özçağdaş said.

Some education unions and NGOs criticize the new curriculum, dubbed the "Maarif [Education] model," arguing it is ideologically driven rather than focused on addressing deficiencies in current programs.

In response, Tekin criticized the CHP's stance. "We told everyone involved that 'we are making preparations, and if you have any, then share them with us' regarding both the curriculum and the teaching profession law. I opened a white page," he said.

"I have made a months-long preparation, and you want to pull the bottom brick. This means sabotage," the minister added.

The meetings between Erdoğan and Özel, held at the Justice and Development Party (AKP) headquarters on May 2 and later at CHP's headquarters on June 11, marked the first direct engagement between AKP and CHP leaders since 2016.

The discussions have since led to a series of dialogues involving foreign, defense, interior, finance and environment ministers and CHP officials.