Action Needed not Philosophy
Members of the Abant Platform overcame difficulties to come to Palandoken, the first stop of their Anatolia tour, to discuss a very pertinent issue during their commission studies on the first two days of their visit.
A discussion on education, one of the most deep rooted and complicated problems of Turkey, was not as easy as handling the issues of religion and secularism or globalization and law. Swedish Professor Elisabeth Ozdalga's remarks were striking: "It is a dream to reach a consensus on a common philosophy of education in Turkey today. What we need now is not philosophy but action to solve problems." Ozdalga said the budget Turkey allocated for education was only half of that of OECD countries' and proposed the National Security Ministry allocate more resources to education. Echoing her concerns, Necdet Sakaoglu, a former member of the Council of Educational Policy and a teacher said there were a large number of students, who could not read or write correctly in their native language although they were secondary school graduates.
The platform participants agreed that the issue of religious schools (Imam Hatip Schools) were a subject matter not to be included in their discussions. Journalist and writer Nazli Ilicak focused on the issue of "intellectuals detached from the people" and criticized the attitudes of Western-influenced intellectuals against their own culture and history. "Have developed countries reached their current status by denying their own historical heritage?" she queried. A controversial discussion by Journalist Emre Akoz and Professor Halil Cin on the Philosophy of Education and Sociology Commission ended the calm course of the conference. Serious debates and mutual discussions followed the quarrel. Akoz's, remark, "put idealistic thoughts aside and discuss integration with the contemporary world," at some of the commission members' frequent reference to religious and national values, irritated Cin.
As expected, the "headscarf" ban preceded the discussion on education on the agenda in the commission although the word "headscarf" was not mentioned. Opposing the non-existence of such an expression in the first prepared commission reports, Ali Bulac said it would be of no one's benefit to ignore a bleeding scar. With Bulac's suggestion, it was accepted that an article referencing this would be printed in the text of Political Philosophy and Sociology Commission. President Prof. Niyazi Oktem and Dr. Mehmet Ali Kilicbay opposed the notion that the issue was politicized. Another controversial issue arose when the Council of Higher Education (YOK). Prof. Dr. Nuri Yurdusev suggested an article saying 'YOK should be closed down 'be added to the text. This suggestion was accepted by an overwhelming majority and the commission members said, 'no' to YOK for the well-being of education. The results of the debates and voting sessions over these two issues came as an answer for the criticisms sometimes made about Abant as 'conservative-retentive and distant to freedoms'. Following this debate, Kilicbay voiced consecutive criticisms concerning the language used in the text. Kilicbay's remarks who said that religious expressions cannot be used became a subject of controversial debate between him and Ali Bulac. (By Zafer Ozcan)
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