The Republic's magic wand: Equality of opportunity in education

If you were to ask us to define the Republic in a single sentence, our common thought would likely be: “The Republic is equality of opportunity.” The magic wand through which the Republican revolution provided this equality of opportunity is education. 

It is a village child living in poverty in Tunceli winning a spot at Robert College or Istanbul High School through an exam they prepared for with their own limited means. 

The only dream and hope of all laborers—those picking tea in the Black Sea region, those working as seasonal agricultural workers in Urfa or Gaziantep, or those going to clean houses in Istanbul—is that exam their children will take. 

The sole goal of the civil servant, the white-collar worker, and the middle class, who spend every penny they have on their children's education expenses, is to provide them with a good education so they can succeed in that exam and save their lives. 

In our society, where a significant portion lives on minimum wage, perhaps the greatest chance that parents and the social state offer their children is the possibility of succeeding in that exam. 

If you take that dream away from them, nothing remains in the name of equality of opportunity. 

Although many institutions have faltered, suffered damage, or been worn down in the 102-year history of the Republic, two activities have continued to be carried out with high participation and success: elections and centralized exams. It is vital to protect the integrity, fairness, and transparency of these two activities, one of which keeps democracy alive and the other, equality of opportunity. 

It may sound like a cliché to you, but it is worth remembering: The journey of a child from a village in Isparta who worked as a shepherd, reaching Istanbul Technical University, being appointed to a civil service position with the engineering degree they earned, rising to the position of General Manager of the State Hydraulic Works, and subsequently reaching the high career path of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, was only possible through the equality of opportunity provided by the Republic.

So much so that in the constitutions written throughout the history of the Republic, equality of opportunity in education and free education by the state have been specifically emphasized and protected. 

Therefore, the two ministries that contain the word “National” in their names—the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of National Defense (Security)—are perhaps the two most important ministries in the cabinet. Especially since National Education is the future, the yeast, and the soil of this country…. It is the sole institution that should not grant privileges to any sect, community, or group. It is the office of Hasan Ali Yücel, the founder of the Village Institutes, a minister who wrote his name in history in golden letters. It must be managed with high responsibility and consciousness. 

Therefore, every word and every statement that comes out of the mouth of the Minister sitting in that office today is accepted not just as an answer given to the opposition party, but as an answer given to the children of this nation. For the attention of those concerned…