Students forced to enroll in religious schools in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

Turkish PM visits an imam hatip. AA Photo

Students living in Istanbul's European-side district of Sultangazi who failed to earn good enough marks to enter the advanced Anatolian High School system or a vocational school have been enrolled in the religious imam-hatip schools without their knowledge, daily Hürriyet reported.
 
Nearly 3,000 students were prevented from enrolling the Anatolian and vocational schools following the entrance tests, and most of those were subsequently enrolled in religious imam-hatip schools against their wishes.
 
One parent claimed that despite selecting vocational schools on the forms, his son was forced to attend an imam-hatip school instead.
 
"We were told that there were no more vacancies in other schools," the father told Hürriyet. "My son does not want to attend an imam-hatip. We are Alevis. They disregard that and force everyone to attend imam-hatips."
 
Another Alevi parent also claimed that her daughter was enrolled in an imam-hatip even though they had selected three different vocational schools.
 
Other parents also confirmed that they had selected vocational schools on their forms but that their children were all placed in imam-hatip schools.
 
"My child doesn't want to go [to an imam-hatip]," another father said. "They are toying around with their futures."