Students Pushed Into Distance Learning After Many Schools Designated Imam-Hatip

The new school year started two weeks ago but a number of middle school graduates have still not been allocated a high school, while others have been enrolled in schools far from their homes against their will, forcing them to enroll in distance learning programs, amid placement chaos after many high schools were turned into imam-hatip schools that provide a religious education.

The Transition from Primary to Secondary Education (TEOG) exam, which has caused problems in the education system, continues to occupy the country's agenda. Many students who have not yet been placed in a normal high school have been automatically enrolled in schools for which they did not state a preference in the TEOG process and some had no option but to enroll in distance learning programs -- which allow students to study at home and only take exams at designated schools -- a situation which several experts consider to be a violation of the children's right to an education.

Despite the fact that there is no real demand for them, many schools have recently been turned into imam-hatip high schools, a move which has been criticized by civil society groups on the grounds that it is a political move by the government rather than a need-based one.

According to official data released by the Ministry of Education, the number of students enrolled in imam-hatip high schools increased by 39 percent when compared to 2010, but speaking with Today's Zaman on the issue, Alper Dinçer, research coordinator at the Education Reform Initiative at Sabancı University, stated that the increase is higher than has been announced and that the Ministry of Education has not shared the latest data on the issue for fear of possible adverse reactions.

Özcan Demir, who lives in Turgutlu, a town in Manisa province, had to enroll his child in a distance learning program after the TEOG system placed his child involuntarily in a high school far from the family's home. The child was placed in Urganlı Vocational High School, 22 kilometers away from the home, and despite the family trying to transfer their child to a school with spaces, their efforts yielded no result.

Speaking to Today's Zaman, Zeynur Demir -- the child's mother -- complained about the auto-enrollment system, saying: "They [the Ministry of Education and government] wrecked everything. We tried very hard to transfer our child to a high school close to our home. But no officials helped us while we were trying. It seems like the ministry wants to deprive students of the right to an education. When our child refused to go to the high school automatically determined by the TEOG system, we felt compelled to enroll them in a distance education program, together with several friends of mine who are in the same predicament."

İdris Kalır and his son Fırat Kalır are also victims of the TEOG system, with Fırat refusing to go to Büyükada İmam-Hatip High School because he did not choose it during the TEOG exam process. İdris Kalır reacted to his son's situation, saying: "How dare they [the ministry and government] ruin my child's future? Do they want my son to go to the mountains [to fight for terrorist organizations like the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) against the Turkish military] instead of receiving an education? I live in Fatih [a district of İstanbul] and my son was placed in a school on Büyükada [an island in the Sea of Marmara]. How will he be able to go there every day? It takes five hours to get there. Why is the system being so cruel to us?"

Placement chaos comes as normal schools turned into imam-hatips

Speaking to Today's Zaman about regular high schools recently being turned into imam-hatip high schools, Education and Science Employees Union (Eğitim-İş) President Veli Demir lashed out at the government, saying: "With the TEOG system, more than 40,000 students were placed in imam-hatip high schools against their will. The number of students who attended these schools was 70,000 in 2002. The current number is around 970,000. No one can claim that all of them enrolled in these schools voluntarily. Trying to establish an educational system based on a politicized religion will not benefit anyone."

There are almost 1 million students who have enrolled in the distance learning program system for various reasons in 2014. However, this has sparked concerns that these children might be exposed to exploitation, with risks that young girls might be forced to marry against their will while boys may be forced to work in industrial areas.

Dinçer warns that the distance learning option was introduced for those who are over the compulsory education age -- aged 30 or 40, for example -- and that it is not designed for students who actually want to go to school instead of the distance learning programs. "The current practice of pushing students to enroll in distance learning is against the principle of compulsory education as defined by the Ministry of Education. The statistics showing that the number of students who will receive an education via distance learning has increased by 39 percent do not reflect the real rate. The number is higher but the ministry is not announcing it for fear of angering taxpayers," Dinçer told Today's Zaman.

A large number of regular middle and high schools has been turned into imam-hatip schools. Thirteen classrooms of Kartal Uğur Mumcu Mahallesi Milli Eğitim Vakfı Middle School were recently turned over to the provision of an imam-hatip education by the Ministry of Education. However, the ministry's regulations concerning these transformations dictate that if the two types of education systems -- regular and imam-hatip -- are given in a school, the school will be totally transformed into an imam-hatip school after three years.

There are many other schools which were recently turned into imam-hatips, including Özdemiroğlu Okulu in Acıbadem, Ahmet Sani Gezici High School, the 50. Yıl Cumhuriyet Feridun Tümer and İlhami Ahmet Örnekal schools as well as Yeşilbahar Middle School in İstanbul's Kadıköy district. The number of imam-hatip schools increased from 450 to 952 over the last two years.

In addition to İstanbul, other provinces are also experiencing the same problems, such as Merkez Middle School in Çanakkale, which was designated as an imam-hatip, prompting outrage among parents and causing protests against the decision.

Karşıyaka High School in İzmir, Elmadağ Atatürk Middle School in Ankara, Başöğretmen Atatürk Middle School in Çorum, 75th Anatolian High School in Karabük and Anatolian Teacher High School in Afyonkarahisar are among those schools which were changed to imam-hatips.

Ministry says students to be placed in schools near home

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education on Tuesday instructed the Provincial Directorates for National Education across the country to place students who were automatically enrolled in high schools very far from their residences in schools nearby. Transfers will be allowed until Oct. 17.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)