Ministry of National Education bans events 'contrary to national and cultural values': Christmas, Halloween, Easter

The Regulation on Amending the Regulation on Private Educational Institutions of the Ministry of National Education (MEB) has been published in the Official Gazette.

Accordingly, a new type of institution called a "social activity and development center" has been defined, where studies aimed at the academic development of middle school students, along with social, cultural, artistic, and sports activities, will be conducted in line with their interests, desires, and talents.

With this regulation change, the curricula applied by international private educational institutions, excluding those implementing the Turkish program, and all kinds of teaching materials used in the implementation of these programs will need to be approved by the Board of Education and Discipline.

With the amendment, celebrations such as Christmas, Halloween, and Easter have been deemed "events contrary to national and cultural values that cannot contribute to the psychosocial development of students," and their celebration in schools has been banned.

Following reports in some media outlets in December 2023 that 'parents were complaining' about events such as Christmas, Halloween, and Easter held in private schools, the MEB General Directorate of Private Educational Institutions, led by Fetullah Güner, sent a letter to all provinces titled 'Social Activities to be Organized in Educational Institutions,' warning private schools regarding such events.

The letter stated that all activities would be organized in accordance with the general and specific objectives and basic principles of Turkish national education as set forth in the Basic Law on National Education No. 1739.

Following the warning, the ministry's Regulation on Amending the Regulation on Educational Institutions was published in the Official Gazette.

Accordingly, a new type of institution called a "social activity and development center" is being defined, where studies aimed at the academic development of middle school students, along with social, cultural, artistic, and sports activities, will be conducted in line with their interests, desires, and talents.

Changes are also being made regarding the building title deed and building occupancy permit, which are mandatory for procedures such as the opening, transfer, and relocation of private educational institutions.

Considering the difficulties in obtaining these documents, a 'title deed' will be requested instead of a 'building title deed' in these transactions, and a building occupancy permit will not be required. It is also made possible to open private educational institutions on real estate owned partially or entirely by the Treasury and public administrations with special budgets, as well as on real estate belonging to the General Directorate of Foundations and the established foundations it manages and represents.

DOES THE BAN COVER MINORITY SCHOOLS?

Under the Treaty of Lausanne, schools belonging to the Greek, Armenian, and Jewish communities in Turkey were granted private school status. It is not yet known whether the new regulation will also cover minority schools.

Minority schools, whose student numbers are decreasing slightly every year, have also made a name for themselves in recent years with their Christmas and Easter bazaars.

On the other hand, many private schools have students from different religions within their student body. For the Christian community, Christmas is known as the day Jesus Christ was born, while Easter is known as the holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

BOARD OF EDUCATION AND DISCIPLINE APPROVAL MANDATORY

With the regulation, it will also be required that the curricula applied by international private educational institutions, excluding those implementing the Turkish program, and all kinds of teaching materials used in the implementation of these programs be approved by the Board of Education and Discipline.

With the change made regarding the annual work calendar and working hours of schools, it has been stipulated that matters concerning the general functioning of education and training, such as central exams, will be taken into account in the implementation of a separate work calendar, and that events contrary to national and cultural values that cannot contribute to the psychosocial development of students cannot be held in institutions.

TEXTBOOKS TO BE TAUGHT MUST BE APPROVED BY THE MINISTRY

With the regulation, it has been made essential to teach textbooks approved by the ministry in schools, and the job descriptions of the founder or founder's representative and the institution manager have also been regulated in this regard.

In addition, an amendment was made regarding the centralized placement of children of those considered disabled due to war or duty, who are given priority in free education under the Private Educational Institutions Law No. 5580, as well as children for whom protection, care, or housing decisions have been made.

With the amendment, institutions that wish to accept students into fields not covered by incentives from vocational high schools opened in organized industrial zones are also enabled to charge fees to these students.