Have the schools opened by the Gülen Movement made achievements on the national and international levels?
Fethullah Gülen and his assistants have a long list of successes, ranging from sports to the Scientific Olympiads.
The students of our schools abroad, in addition to winning the first places in the tests and contests held at the national level in their respective countries, and in many International Olympiads held at different times they had innumerable awards. For the first time in their history, Iraq and Afghanistan, in the Scientific Olympiads, had won the medals through these schools. The attraction of the people to these schools is very high. In Kyrgyzstan, in 2006, for the opening of 900 seats, 55,000 had applied.[1]
The schools are, in general, among the best in the towns in which they are located. For that reason, the public is extremely attracted to these schools. Teachers understand that they must be accessible to their students. Thus, they constantly provide help and support to the students in their daily work and homework. Parents are extremely appreciative of the teachers’ dedication to their children. The teachers treat every pupil as if they were their own children and desire for them to have the best careers; they also feel the responsibility to prepare them for life. The teachers inculcate this sense of responsibility in their students, which increases their success. In short, the schools achieve both at national and international levels. However, it is only when these successes are assessed through the human yardstick, do academic achievements acquire meaning. It is understood that this is exactly the aim of the Fethullah Gülen schools.
The Gülen Movement has an interesting and an important picture, a Turkish reality which is internationalized. This reality cannot be understood only through questions and answers. It has to be enriched by a sociological analysis at both, the scale of our country, and the world. The “Epilogue” was penned with this aim in mind.
[1] Exclusive answer delivered to Doğu Ergil.
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