Gov’t plans changes in graduation system in Turkey

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

The Education Ministry has drafted a regulation that would introduce fresh changes to Turkey’s secondary schools, including provisions that would facilitate graduation and allow married students to stay in school, media reports said yesterday.

The draft regulation, leaked to several newspapers, comes hot on the heels of a controversial education reform bill that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) steamrolled through Parliament last month despite the objections of opposition parties.

Under the existing rules, “married students cannot be enrolled in schools” and “students who get married while in school will be expelled.” The new draft however omits the second provision, the Vatan daily reported, suggesting that the Ministry would allow students who get married to stay in school. The education law passed last month has already paved the way for students to opt out of school in favor of home study.

The draft regulation would also modify the objectives of education by removing a sentence stating that students must be educated in line with “the revolution and principles of Atatürk” and the “national, moral, humanitarian, spiritual and cultural values of the Turkish nation.”

The draft would also make it easier for students to pass to the next grade and increase the number of failed classes required to repeat a grade.