Access to education for all, access to education for all, access to education for all. If future adult citizens were not informed about the values of democracy, the importance of civil liberties and a lot about history and many more subjects, they would not be able to successfully perform in professional, public or private life. They would not speak up when democracy was threatened. They would never question their leaders. They would do whatever an imaginary totalitarian state asked them to do. At the same time, they would either become “authoritarian” at home, making normal husband-wife-children relations impossible, as this is what they copy from the state, or would retreat into total privacy, not concerning themselves with anything their very own state engaged in.Luckily people mature, nations mature. Turkey has become a very mature country despite ongoing attempts by a shrinking self-styled “white Turk” elite to replace both the government and its president albeit by non-democratic means. Clinging to a legal provision which was a by-product of a so-called “postmodern coup” dating back to the year 1997 must be seen in this light. I am talking about the very recent abolition of the coefficient for prospective university students who attended Turkey's vocational schools, including those often referred to as “imam-hatip high-schools.” This new policy is even more relevant as it underlines the courage of the present government to once more press ahead with much needed reforms and although Brussels may applaud Ankara for this decision, it is initially an entirely domestic issue.
Are university entrance or selection exams the best tool to measure the future academic abilities of a young person? The Turkish version is called the Student Selection Examination (ÖSS). Studying for the test has become a big business. A peculiarity to this fascinating country is its dershanes, a special type of weekend or evening school for youngsters preparing for the ÖSS or improving their skills in more general terms.
When I discovered these learning centers some years ago, I was surprised. Does it not shed a somewhat negative light on Turkey's secondary education in principle? I asked myself whether -- and why -- so many schoolchildren need special attention. Why attend in the first place? So what do these kids learn there that they cannot learn at secondary school?
Attending university is a matter of choice, but while we speak about the emerging knowledge-based economy, we should not forget that most professions do not require a university degree. Most careers are based on primary and secondary education followed by vocational training, in many instances lasting for no less than two years. Vocational education is often perceived as a second-class career pattern -- an absurd classification.
If a young person, however, wishes to complete tertiary education, he or she must be encouraged to do so. Universities should only charge modest fees, and ideally a modern state does not need to resort to private universities, as their public educational establishments should be top notch. I was amazed about the number of private universities operating in Turkey. Does “private” perhaps mean a “better” education? Are students who come from rich families perhaps blessed with a higher IQ? Your guess is as good as mine.
As the ÖSS will stay in place for the foreseeable future and the private weekend schools may continue to make good money, since some parents will always have more disposable income, we nevertheless have to guarantee that all young people have the same chance to participate in the university entrance exam and that their results are calculated fairly and on equal footing regardless of which educational establishment they graduated. This had not been the case until a few weeks ago -- a landmark decision indeed.
Now in theory all ÖSS participants who attended vocational schools have the same chance of entering university as candidates coming from non-vocational high schools. Why only in theory? Because the majority of graduates from vocational schools will not have had the benefit of attending a weekend school due to their families' financial limitations.
Paying more attention to providing fair access to education at all levels and for all, shifting the focus to the importance of vocational training, giving more support to families with many children who cannot attend private weekend schools and drastically improving the quality of teacher training all over the country are the necessary steps that need to be taken.
To make sure this strategy bears fruit, parents and society in general should tell the government loud and clear: please invest in education, invest in education and invest in education some more.
