Ministry to revive act for talented children’s art education

ANKARA

The Culture and Tourism Ministry will bring to the agenda of reviving a law widely known as the "wonderful children act" in the public, which provides opportunities and financial support for exceptionally talented children in the field of fine arts to receive advanced education abroad, Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has announced.

The law was specifically enacted to send pianist Idil Biret and violinist Suna Kan, who would later become significant figures in Turkish music history, to study abroad with state scholarships at the ages of 12 and 7, respectively.

This law, further expanded in 1956, facilitated the identification of talented children in various fine arts fields and supported their education abroad with government scholarships.

According to the law, all expenses of these children and their parents were covered by the ministry until the age of 16 during their education abroad.

In his presentation to the parliament’s budget commission on Nov. 15, Ersoy stated that the law, which is still officially in force but has not been utilized for a while, will be restored to functionality, adding that his ministry will discover and support promising children across the country once again through the art units and art institutions within the ministry.

"As part of the targeted initiative to discover talented children throughout Anatolia, the Law on the Education of Children with Exceptional Talent in Fine Arts, numbered 6660, will be revised," he said.

Through this law, 11 children who excelled in various fields of fine arts, from piano to painting, received education in prestigious conservatories in Paris between 1957 and 1968.

Türkiye has made significant progress not only in providing education abroad for promising children in various fields, including science, art and sports but also in accepting international students at its universities.

In a new development related to the latter, a collaboration protocol was signed between the Interior Ministry’s migration body and the Higher Education Council (YÖK) to facilitate the process of residence and visa procedures for international students.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya emphasizes Türkiye’s significant competitiveness in higher education, stating, "This competitiveness is on the radar of international students. Therefore, our universities host students from 198 different countries. The protocol we have signed will streamline processes and minimize bureaucratic procedures in the workflow."