Minister Tekin: We are carrying out efforts to improve quality in Imam Hatip schools

Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin spoke at the Imam Hatip Schools Successful Examples Exhibition and Award Ceremony Program. Stating, "Just as we do for our other schools, we are working with our General Directorate of Religious Education to take steps that will increase the quality of our Imam Hatip schools," Tekin said, "We need to take steps to increase the professional development and qualifications of our teacher colleagues who teach vocational courses in Imam Hatip schools, and in general, our colleagues who teach religion, culture, and ethics courses in all our schools.

When we open a parenthesis like this and think about it around the concept of division of labor and specialization, which is one of the main reference values for our teacher colleagues in this category, we also need to ensure the specialization of these colleagues.

What we are currently working on with our General Director of Religious Education is to revise the staff and appointment areas that allow our colleagues who teach vocational courses in Imam Hatip high schools and religion, culture, and ethics courses in other schools to specialize in more specific fields, in coordination with the Council of Higher Education (YÖK)," he said.

Minister Tekin said, "Our faculty that currently serves as a source for teaching or religion, culture, and ethics teaching is our theology faculties; a teacher colleague of ours, a young person who graduates from a theology faculty, also enters the courses I just listed. They also enter one of the courses in middle schools.

Here, in terms of making religious education more qualified and effective, I say that there should be a different teacher appointment group that teaches religion, culture, and ethics courses in primary and middle schools, which differs according to age groups and receives training in this regard in a pedagogical sense. Therefore, let us organize this field in this way. We are working on this," he said.

"WE WILL OPEN SCHOOLS THAT WILL SET AN EXAMPLE"

Minister Tekin stated, "People who cannot tolerate listening to us, and some people who have difficulty understanding, did not understand these sentences either. I mean, there is no model that provides both religious education in the Islamic sense and education in positive sciences together. This is our brand value. I am now saying let's turn this into an international brand. I mean, let's make it so that we can open schools with this model all over the world. They misunderstand this too. Now, this is one of the issues we are working on. Hopefully, in the near future, we will have opened schools that will set an example in this sense in many different countries as well," he expressed.

President of Religious Affairs Safi Arpaguş said, "The meaning and value that Imam Hatip schools represent for our country and our nation are self-evident. These schools, which came to life 74 years ago with great difficulties and sacrifices, have become a picture of pride with the successes they have achieved today. These distinguished schools, which have been favored by our nation since the day they were founded, have performed and still perform a great function in conveying the principles of faith, worship, and morality of Islam to generations in the most accurate way, and in spreading religious knowledge and good morals in individual and social life. Imam Hatip schools have been the most solid ground for generations to improve themselves in both religious and human sciences. These schools and their devoted representatives have pioneered the raising of a knowledgeable, virtuous, and moral generation that is committed to civilizational values and loves its country and nation. Because Imam Hatip Schools are the manifestation of the longing to raise a well-equipped generation, far from any extremism, with the timeless example of our Prophet. Imam Hatip Schools and the generations raised in these schools are the embodiment of a noble ideal such as rebuilding the civilization of compassion under the guidance of Islam. The Imam Hatip generation, this blessed generation, represents a great ideal that aims for the unity and solidarity of Muslims and the peace and salvation of all humanity," he said.

News Source: İHA