Turkish Schools Messenger of Universal Peace
Former Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said various circles are upset with him for praising Turkish schools abroad, he noted, however, he does not give heed to such circles. "But they no longer attack me. They seem to have accepted it. I think they have gotten used to it. I will continue supporting Turkish schools."
Expressing his feelings in the book edited by Toktamis Ates, Eser Karakas and Ilber Ortayli, about the nearly 500 Turkish schools around the world Ecevit said seeing and hearing about these schools has given him great happiness.
The encouragement of Fethullah Gülen has a great deal of importance in the opening of these schools abroad Ecevit said. "I know him personally. I have immense respect towards these schools. I have been following the educational activities pursued by these people abroad for fifteen years. I am very pleased with the results. These people provide a modern form of education in every country they teach in.. They teach Turkish to all their students. This is a great service. This is at first a national service and secondly a humanitarian service."
There have been many points written and said about the Turkish schools abroad in both Turkey and in other countries. Most of the articles and views praise these schools and although not much, there have been some criticisms written and said as well.
Ufuk Publishing, aiming to create an objective evaluation about Turkish schools, asked the question "What do you think about the Turkish schools abroad?" to 27 intellectuals of different views, including former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, Professor Kemal Karpat, ret. Ambassador Gunduz Aktan, former Higher Education Board (YOK) Chairman Professor Mehmet Saglam, Professor M. Ali Kilicbay, Author Cengiz Aytmatov, Professor Umit Meric, Professor Mumtazer Turkone, film producer Halit Refig, journalist Gulay Gokturk, and Professor Niyazi Oktem. These intellectuals almost all of whom visited the schools and had the opportunity to speak directly with the students studying there wrote down their views and assessments.
The book titled "Bridges for Peace: Turkish Schools Opening to the World" explains the thought and mass support behind the educational institutions opened in Central Asia, South America, India, the Balkans, China and Africa. The intellectuals were impressed by Russian, African, Chinese students speaking Turkish, singing in Turkish, knowing the Turkish national anthem by memorization, the Turkish flag in the schoolyard and the photographs of Ataturk on the walls.
'These schools will spread Turkish'
The assessments of theTurkish intellectuals and elites will open a new page in the history of humanity and display in a short time as 15 years the genuine story of a great educational movement encouraged by the power of love and of the "heroic teachers" who turned this activity into a passion. "Ottoman and British missionaries rushed into Ottoman territory in the last century and Turkey feared its Muslim children who studied in their schools would convert and even if they did not convert Turkey witnessed the students' culture and perspective of the world changed. Turkey is now in a different process now. We do not see students converting in these schools but we see students who learn Turkish and admire Turkey, " Ilber Ortayli says and adds "Thanks to these schools, Turkish will become more widespread and the study of Turcology will change in the near future."
Former YOK Chairman Professor Mehmet Saglam expressed, "These schools on the roofs of which the Turkish flag waves, where people from different nations learn Turkish, sing in Turkish, in the classrooms of which there are the pictures and sayings of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk spread the light of science around them." Ret. Ambassador Gunduz Aktan beginning to explain his views with "the Turkish Schools I knew in Japan," believes discussions in Turkey must be put aside and the activities of these schools must be taken into consideration: "Do these activities benefit or harm Turkey?" Aktan asks and adds: "They benefit. High technology is used in these schools. The countries' elite administrators send their children to these schools. These schools obtain successful results in the international competitions. Furthermore, the Turkish culture is in the background of the education there..." (By Abdullah Kilic, Istanbul)
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