THE OUTDATED PRACTICES AT DÜZCE TURGUT ÖZAL ANATOLIAN HIGH SCHOOL ARE UNACCEPTABLE!

The 18-item list handed to parents during student registration at Düzce Turgut Özal Anatolian High School constitutes an attack on the fundamental values of our Republic, and on the principles of secular, scientific, and coeducational learning.

Provisions in the list—such as requiring boys and girls to wait in separate lines at the cafeteria, banning even playful expressions like “my friend” or “buddy,” and prohibiting girls from sitting in the front seats of school buses—promote gender inequality in education and impose outdated practices on our students.

These measures are in clear violation of the right to education guaranteed by Article 42 of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, as well as the principles of secular, scientific, and coeducational instruction. The Constitution requires that education be organized in line with Atatürk’s principles and reforms, and on democratic, secular, and scientific foundations. Such practices violate both students’ equal right to education and the secular, democratic values of our Republic.

As Çağdaş Yaşamı Destekleme Derneği(ÇYDD), we reject this mentality that targets coeducation, and we once again emphasize that secular and scientific education is the fundamental element safeguarding the future of our Republic.

We will continue to be steadfast defenders of the gains of the Republic and of Atatürk’s principles and reforms against any mindset seeking to subject our children and youth to outdated practices.