I am opposed, I am a plaintiff, I am helpless

Education is compulsory in Turkey. Unfortunately, it is compulsory. The state provides "compulsory" education to our children with the aims of preventing child labor, protecting the child against darkness with a logic inherited from the Enlightenment, and finally, raising a religious generation. In fact, the state would educate even without schools. Because education is a much more general and inclusive concept than schooling. Education can exist even without schools. But that is not our topic.

In the current situation, whether state or private, education in Turkey is both compulsory and under the control and determination of the state. There is no way out of this obligation yet.

The child's right to education is the result of an outdated optimism. In the current system, it would be better if the right not to receive education were protected. Because the "education" provided in schools is a form of oppression that a reasonable person should only be protected from.

You will probably object when I say this. Behind "compulsory education" lies the idea of "preventing child labor" or the child being saved from the darkness into which they were born. However, the darkness into which a person is born today is the work of the state, or rather, of governments and civil society determined in parallel with governments.

When it comes to opposition to compulsory education, everyone usually focuses on compulsory religious education. The issue is approached as if other subjects were secular, scientific, and contemporary, and only the religious course were problematic. If you are Jewish or Christian, you can get out of compulsory religious education. Considering the recent ECHR and Constitutional Court decisions, the possibilities seem to have expanded. Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights states the following:

"In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions." So how will the state show this respect? Let's say we somehow managed to get out of compulsory religious education. How will this respect be shown regarding the content of other subjects and the attitudes of teachers working within or under the supervision of the Ministry of National Education (MEB)?

When there are teachers in our country who speak against the Theory of Evolution even in mathematics and science classes, is the issue only the religious course? Or what about history classes? Now I will move on to some concrete examples. Let's look at the courses given in primary education institutions: Let's take Turkish, Mathematics, Life Sciences, Science, Social Studies, History of the Turkish Republic and Atatürkism, Foreign Language, Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge, Visual Arts, and Human Rights, Citizenship and Democracy courses as a basis. I don't need to explain the absurdity in Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge. Let's touch on it briefly; both religion and morality are linked to each other; only a specific interpretation of Islam is preached in the name of religion, and other religious and philosophical approaches are ignored. In this state, this course should be abolished entirely, let alone being compulsory. Moreover, the existence of this course is also unconstitutional. But who are we telling this to?

What about the other courses? Let's look at the "Morality and Citizenship Education" course. While the purpose of education is conveyed in the MEB's own documents, the following claims are made: There is a universal morality and it can be analyzed, and morality and ethics are the same thing. It doesn't stop there; the people who represent good morality are as follows: Prophet Yahya, Virgin Mary, Prophet Muhammad, Khadija, Abdullah b. Amr, Khoja Ahmed Yesevi, Yunus Emre, Fuzuli, etc. These people are "known for their good morality." We see that the religious course has expanded. Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge was not enough, so it reappeared under different names.

There is only Islam in the Basic Religious Knowledge course. Again, Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge has expanded. A more explicit stance has been taken. A worship-oriented course has been organized based on only one interpretation of Islam.

Let's look at the Life Sciences course. One of the learning outcomes is: "Participates willingly in religious days and holiday celebrations: Topics such as preparations made at home and in the environment for Ramadan Feast and Eid al-Adha, exchanging greetings, treats, and the meaning of the holiday for children are emphasized. Other religious days are also mentioned." I leave it to your conscience how much space is given to the philosophical attitudes and beliefs of a Jew, Christian, Alevi, Jafari, Syriac, Armenian, or a vegan or vegetarian with this learning outcome.

While very abstract and subjective concepts are included in the courses I listed at these ages, equally abstract but objective and real contents have been removed from the courses. Instead of content such as geology, theory of evolution, philosophy, logic, etc., a superficial geography, plenty of Islamic worship, and a bit of jingoism have been placed. In the Science course, there is DNA and genetic code, and even mutation, but no Evolution. It's truly unbelievable!

Similarly, there is reproduction and development in living things, but human reproduction is almost non-existent. There are prohibitions, but the subject of the prohibition is missing. Moreover, under certain topics, teachers are explicitly forbidden from entering certain subjects. For example, "the term replication is not used," "replication experiments are not explained." It is forbidden for the teacher to go into these and explain them, even if the student asks.

The History of the Turkish Republic and Atatürkism course, as always, tries to carefully avoid "revolutionism." It is not enough; the expressions have been softened, and instead of material facts, legends and almost idle chatter have been included. There are also material errors. If it were up to the content of this course, the Turkish Historical Society and the Turkish Language Association were founded by Atatürk, not by the September 12 Coup. How can a student taking this course see the betrayal of Atatürk's legacy? How can they understand the difference between a society and an institution?

I could happily multiply the examples. But I feel sorry for the reader.

It seems that Islamist propaganda appears in many courses in different guises. Under these circumstances, how will the philosophical beliefs and attitudes of parents be respected? Let alone them, how will the principle of secularism in the Constitution be adhered to?

Regardless of all these course contents, how can we entrust our children to these semi-open prisons of the MEB, which does not comply with the findings of modern science in any way, with its institutions, spaces, classroom environments, understanding of teaching, and understanding of training and sustaining teachers? How will we trust these institutions that operate so that children do not work, parents can go to work, and in the meantime, children stay away from crime and are kept busy at least to a certain extent? Moreover, if I do not entrust my child to these institutions, which are trying to ensure that our children are directly and indirectly exposed to Islamist propaganda, will we not seek a remedy against this system that threatens me and people like me with fines and imprisonment? To hell with your education!