"EDUCATION IN MOTHER TONGUE FOR ALL MINORITY CHILDREN!"
BIA
/kategori/english/113168/education-in-mother-tongu e-for-all-minority-children
March 16 2009
Turkey
A Minority Rights Group reports calls on the Turkish government
to introduce necessary amendments in law to allow education in
mother tongues as well as clearing curriculum of nationalistic and
discriminatory approaches.
The Turkish government must act to stop discrimination against minority
children in schools, which ignore their distinct culture, language,
history and religion, says Minority Rights Group (MRG) International
in a new report, released today.
In the report titled, "Forgotten or Assimilated? Minorities in the
Education System of Turkey" , MRG accuses the education system in
Turkey of working to assimilate minorities and promote Turkish identity
and nationalism. Turkey recognizes only Armenians, Jews and Rums as
minorities and denies other minorities the right to open their own
schools. No minority language can be used at public schools as the
language of instruction.
"Turkey has to change its minority policy and recognize the
existence of diverse groups such as Assyrians, Kurds, Roma, Laz
and Caucasians. It must guarantee their education rights and take
affirmative action where necessary" Nurcan Kaya, MRG Turkey Coordinator
and author of the report said in a written statement.
"All schoolchildren must attend mandatory classes on religious
culture and ethics. Only Christians and Jews are permitted to opt
out but must disclose their religion to do so, a contravention of
the Turkish Constitution."
The report found that minority pupils in these classes were sometimes
asked to observe Muslim rituals that are not listed in the curriculum,
such as performing ablutions, prayer and attending mosque.
Turkey’s most disadvantaged communities, such as displaced
Kurds and Roma, remain extremely marginalized, including in
education. Demolitions of Roma areas for ‘urbanization’ projects
have left many Roma displaced and hundreds of children unable to go
to school.
The report found that more than 30 per cent of the children of
internally displaced Kurdish families living in Diyarbakır and
Istanbul do not attend school, mainly due to poverty and the need
to work.
"These conditions exacerbate the discrimination, harassment and
humiliation that children from minority communities already face
in Turkey, to such an extent that they often hide their ethnic and
religious identities. Many minorities fear that ultimately their
unique cultures will disappear", adds Kaya.
European Union (EU) accession process has had some positive impact
on the education rights of minorities in Turkey, but much remains
to be done. MRG calls for the EU to put more emphasis on minorities
in Turkey in its accession progress reports, and urges the Turkish
government to consult with minorities on measures to promote and
protect their access to education rights.
The report, which includes interviews with teachers, pupils and workers
in minority NGOs and looks in detail at the issues of language,
religion and discrimination in education and textbooks, recommends
a complete review of the curriculum to remove discriminatory and
nationalist expressions and to promote multiculturalism, tolerance
and peace.(EU/AGU)