Minister Tekin's response to "Gaza" lesson: It was included in less than one-third of the video.

The 2024-2025 Academic Year started on Monday. As students returned to their schools after the summer break, Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin made statements on current issues during a live broadcast on Habertürk.



Minister Tekin responded to the reactions regarding the "Defense of the Homeland from Çanakkale to Gaza" lesson shown on the first day of school. He stated that Gaza was only briefly mentioned in a 15-minute video and said the following: "We have revised our curriculum under the name of Turkey Century Education Model. One of the important aspects we emphasize is the state structure of the Republic of Turkey, which has a history and tradition of thousands of years. We have had a state tradition for thousands of years because it reflects the consciousness of being a nation to future generations. Our ancestors in the past intervened wherever there was injustice, unfairness, or oppression, regardless of where it happened in the world."



Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin

"Remaining silent in the face of brutality is not in line with our state tradition"



The expression "Çanakkale" in the text is related to the first part, our consciousness of being a nation. It is because the War of Independence is, in a sense, the starting point. The second part is about having a mass that can react to such human rights violations and oppressions around us, and raising such a generation. For the past year, the number of students martyred in Gaza is over 10,000. I'm not talking about the destroyed schools. We are talking about over 40,000 martyrs. A brutality has been going on in front of the world's eyes for a year. Remaining silent about this is not in line with our state tradition or our consciousness of being a nation. We started our first lesson like this.



"We included Gaza in less than a third of the video"



We prepared a 15-minute video. We wanted our teacher friends to start the lesson with this video. The answer to the question of how we have acted with both our War of Independence and our state tradition and how we should show a reflex for its continuation is in the video. There is no deficiency regarding Atatürk or the War of Independence in the video. There are references to September 9th and Atatürk. The part about Gaza is less than a third of the video. I didn't keep track of who watched it or who didn't. Throughout the week, we shared what can be covered in schools regarding this activity."