HÜDA-PAR strikes again: 'Compulsory education restricts individual freedoms'

HÜDA-PAR Chairman Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu issued a written statement regarding the topic of compulsory education, which has recently been on the agenda of the Ministry of National Education (MEB). Targeting compulsory education, Yapıcıoğlu argued for its abolition, stating, "It has a structure that restricts individual freedoms." 

Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu, the Chairman of HÜDA-PAR—a party close to Hezbollah that entered the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) with 4 deputies via the AKP lists—made scandalous remarks regarding compulsory education. 

In his written statement concerning compulsory education, a topic the Ministry of National Education (MEB) has been focusing on for some time, Yapıcıoğlu argued that the "structural problems of compulsory education have reached a dimension that cannot be ignored" and that it restricts individual freedoms.

Yapıcıoğlu used the following expressions in his statement: 

"First of all, the compulsory education system has a structure that restricts individual freedoms. Students and parents are largely deprived of the right to choose alternative paths suitable for their own preferences during the education process. This situation causes individuals with different talents and interests to be forced into the same mold and also hinders the development of alternative education models.

On the other hand, the fact that compulsory education is based on a standard and uniform curriculum has led to vocational education being pushed into the background. This approach, which is focused on academic success, makes it difficult for our youth to acquire skills suitable for the labor market and remains insufficient in meeting the need for intermediate staff.

Furthermore, it is becoming difficult for our unskilled youth who do not have any profession to find jobs. Compulsion reduces efficiency in educational environments and damages student-teacher relationships. Today, the number of students taking the university entrance exam in our country has exceeded 3 million. However, if high school education, in particular, were removed from the scope of compulsion, both the congestion at university gates would be prevented and the addition of new members to the army of unemployed university graduates would be blocked."

News Source: 12punto