ÇAĞDAŞ YAŞAMI DESTEKLEME DERNEĞİ HOLDS CONTEMPORARY EDUCATION PANEL

OUR CHILDREN’S FUTURE CANNOT BE SURRENDERED TO THE MARKET AND DOGMA!
On Saturday, September 13, 2025, Çağdaş Yaşamı Destekleme Derneği (ÇYDD) held an
education panel titled “The 2025–26 Academic Year: Problems in Education and Proposed
Solutions.”
The panel took place in Ankara, at the Ahmet Taner Kışlalı Conference Hall in the Çankaya
Municipality Çayyolu Representative Building, where current problems in the education
system and possible solutions were discussed.
Prior to the panel, members of the ÇYDD Headquarters Executive Board, branch presidents,
and members visited Anıtkabir, paying tribute to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the
Republic of Türkiye, with a moment of silence and the laying of a wreath at the mausoleum.
The participants then proceeded to the panel venue.
The panel was moderated by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yıldız, member of the ÇYDD Headquarters
Executive Board and Head of the Education Unit. Speakers included Prof. Dr. İlknur Meşe,
educator Dr. Nurcan Korkmaz, and teacher-writer Özgür Bozdoğan. Discussions focused on
the problems within the education system, the importance of secular, scientific,
coeducational, and public education, and the steps needed to ensure equal opportunity
and gender equality. Participants shared their views on how education policies in Türkiye
affect children’s right to receive equal, free, and high-quality education.
At the conclusion of the panel, a press statement was delivered with the participation of
ÇYDD Headquarters Executive Board members, branch presidents, and members,
emphasizing that children’s futures cannot be surrendered to the demands of the market
or to dogmatic approaches. The statement was read by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yıldız, member of
the Headquarters Executive Board and Head of the Education Unit.
The full text of the press statement issued at the end of the panel is as follows:

OUR CHILDREN’S FUTURE CANNOT BE SURRENDERED TO
THE MARKET AND DOGMA!
As we step into the second century of our Republic, education—one of our most
fundamental achievements—is undergoing severe erosion.
The Enlightenment legacy of the Republic is being gradually worn away between the
interests of the market and dogmatic approaches. Schools are drifting away from being
bastions of science and reason, instead falling under the shadow of outdated practices and
commercial concerns. Education is no longer an equal right for all children in society; it is
turning into a privilege reserved for those with economic means.

This situation poses a serious threat not only to today, but also to the future of our country.
The Republican school, once the guarantee of social cohesion, is disappearing; schools are
no longer instruments of unity but are being transformed into tools of social division.

We Are at the Very Center of an Education Crisis Today
Over the past twenty years, approximately 20,000 village schools have been closed. In
addition, more than one million children of compulsory school age are currently outside the
education system for various reasons. Due to an exam-centered structure, millions of
children are pushed out of the system; students labeled as “unsuccessful” are forced into
imam hatip schools or vocational high schools. Tens of thousands of children go to school
hungry, while thousands of university students abandon their education due to housing
problems. Millions of children who are deprived of education are forced into child labor,
working in workshops and fields. Families struggle to cope with rising education costs, while
young people, filled with despair, try to plan their futures abroad. Instead of addressing
these structural problems, the Ministry of National Education deepens the crisis through
dogmatic attitudes that are far from producing real solutions. Even these examples alone
clearly reveal the severity of the education crisis.

The Direction of Education Is Toward Darkness
 Moving away from science and reason: Curricula and education policies are shifting
toward dogmatic approaches instead of the knowledge and skills required by our
time, narrowing the space for free thought.
 Commodification of education: Schools and courses are being stripped of their
status as public services and presented almost as commercial goods. Income level
has become the determining factor in the quality of education children receive.
 Decay and corruption: Merit is eroding within the education system; sectarian
groups are gaining influence in schools. Recent fake diploma scandals and lack of
oversight have undermined trust in both institutions and society.
 Deepening social inequalities: Education is no longer a shared right of all citizens but
is turning into a privilege for an elite group, while millions of children and young
people grow up under the shadow of inequality of opportunity.

Our Call Is Clear
 Scientific and contemporary education must be restored. Education must be
designed to raise individuals who question, think, and produce.
 Education is a right, not a privilege. Income level or social status must not determine
our children’s futures; public education must be provided equally to all citizens.

 Equality is the foundation of social development. The narrowing of the right to
education threatens not only individuals, but also the future of our country.

We Address the Ministry of National Education
As schools reopen this September, we will oppose policies that seek to confine our children’s
futures to the shadow of ideological impositions and power relations. The educational legacy
of our Republic must be strengthened on the principles of secularism, scientific integrity,
and public responsibility.
Education is the future of a nation; we will not surrender it to darkness.