What is Happening in National Education (1923-1980)

Ibn Khaldun likens societies to a living organism. This view, which inspired many thinkers who came after him in sociology, has an important place in the theories that try to explain social change.  Just as minerals/nutrients that are vital for living organisms are delivered to all cells in a certain way, the role of education is similar for all individuals in a society to reach certain behaviours and knowledge for the healthy development of the society. ‘Education is defined as “the process of bringing about desired changes in an individual's behaviour through his/her own experiences” (1). From this point of view, education is of great importance for the peace, welfare and future of societies. 

Chinese poet Kuan Tzu's lines ‘If you are thinking one year ahead, plant seeds,/ If ten years ahead, plant trees,/ But for a hundred years ahead, be careful to educate the people...’ emphasise the importance of education for the long-term interests and future of societies. Indeed, education policies offer great opportunities for the fundamental solution of problems. However, it is possible to see the results of the implemented policy decades later. For this reason, there are no rapid changes in education policies in developed societies. It is essential that every step taken is discussed and measured on a scientific basis.

Generally, governments refrain from making major changes in education policies at once. There is a very justifiable reason for this. The possibility that changes made without thinking or with the ambition of political prosperity may lead a society to collapse in the long term is too high to be ignored. When we consider the developments after the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, it will be possible to talk more clearly about what has been done/not done in this regard and its consequences.

During the Ottoman Empire, there were ‘Sıbyan Mektepleri’ (primary schools) and madrasahs (considered to be at university level) that provided education based on religion. In addition to these, there were military technical and specialised schools and general education institutions (Rüşdiyeler, Mekteb-i Umum-u Edebiye and Mekteb-i Maarif-i Adliye), which provided education according to western methods. Until the adoption of the Law on Unification of Education on 3 March 1924, some schools in Turkey were under the Ministry of Awqaf (Foundations). After this date, they were affiliated to the Ministry of Education. (2)

Atatürk, who attached great importance to the Law on Unification of Education, expressed this in his speech dated 22 September 1924 by saying: ‘Education is what makes a nation either live as a free, independent, glorious, high society or leaves a nation to bondage and misery’. He also explained the most important aspects of the new education programme to be prepared as being compatible with the needs of our social life and being in accordance with the requirements of the age (3). It would not be wrong to conclude that Atatürk's establishment of the Republic was basically an enlightenment revolution, a cultural revolution. 

However, there was a significant departure from the National Education policy determined by Atatürk in the 1950s. In the programme of the first Adnan Menderes Government, it was stated: ‘No matter how materially advanced a society may be, it is natural that a society which is not based on national, moral and unshakable principles and which does not include spiritual values in its soul will be dragged to bad fate in today's world conditions. The spread of science and technical knowledge in a country that does not take this goal into consideration in its education and training system, and that does not equip the youth with spiritual and human values according to its national character and traditions, cannot be considered as a guarantee of living as a free and independent nation."(4) In this text, a stance against Atatürk's statement that “the truest guide in life is science” in education is perceived. As a matter of fact, the First Adnan Menderes Government's first act after coming to power was to enact a law that the call to prayer should be recited in Arabic again, which is very much in line with the above-mentioned text. 

One of the consequences of this serious break in national education policy was the complete closure of the Village Institutes by the First Adnan Menderes Government, which had actually been stopped in 1946. This period is of great importance for Turkey, which sided with the USA against the Russian threat in the new world order established after the Second World War. Practices aimed at provoking the society against communism led to policy changes in the countries under its control, starting with the USA. All enlightened ideas were labelled as communism and turned into ominous phenomena to be fought against. 

Meanwhile, immediately after the establishment of the First Menderes Government, an American delegation visited Turkey on behalf of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (now known as the World Bank) in June 1950, and the report they prepared was submitted to the said bank in 1951. What is more important than the content of the report is that it constituted one of the official stages of the US policy transfer to countries like Turkey that ‘needed to be shaped’. From then on, Turkey could not deviate from the political line set by the US, even if there were some periodic deviations, and when it tried to do so, the necessary ‘punishments’ were given. Even after 2008, in cases such as Ergenekon and Sledgehammer, the US, seeing the Turkish Armed Forces as an obstacle to its own interests, tried to destroy the Turkish Armed Forces through the Turkish government. 

When we look at the general course of national education in Turkey, it can be said that the 1923-1938 period witnessed a national education policy characterised by nationalism and modernisation.  It is an expected approach for a nation, which had been tried to be kept together with the idea of Ummah, to adopt this policy after the struggle for independence. Because basically, the Republic is an important stage in the construction of a nation-state. In the period after Atatürk's death, between 1938 and 1950, it is observed that nationalism (in the context of education policy) lost some power and the westernisation and humanism movement dominated national education policies.  The most important development of this period was the Village Institutes. The 1950-1960 period was observed as a reactionary period, and practices such as the reinstatement of the call to prayer in Arabic, the closure of the Village Institutes and the closure of the People's Houses came to the fore in this period. However, no permanent education policy was implemented in this period.(5)

Reference: Prepared by Özkan Leblebici. Cannot be used without citing the reference. 

In the 1960-1980 period, which started with the fall of the Democrat Party from power after the military coup in 1960, the most important factor that left its mark on education policies was the 1961 Constitution. In this period, it was believed that there was a ‘danger of communism’ with the influence of the cold war years and nationalist education policies came to the fore. The critical attitude towards the Ottoman sultans in the books included in the curriculum between 1960 and 1970 was replaced by a softer style as of 1976 (6). It can be thought that this was due to the influence of the ‘Nationalist Front’ governments in the 1970s.

Especially with the Primary Education and Education Law No. 222, which started to be implemented in 1961, it is stated that the age of primary education covers eight years of compulsory education between the ages of 7-15. For this purpose, the establishment of regional boarding schools was foreseen in Article 25 and voluntary participation of the public in the construction of schools was requested in Article 75 (7). From this we can conclude that policy makers understood that education requires a total mobilisation.

In the National Education Basic Law No. 1739 enacted in 1973, eight years of education was considered in two levels as ‘5+3’ and it was envisaged that those who completed the first level would be given a primary school diploma. The 1961 Constitution shaped education policies in an environment of freedom, which entered a new and different era with the military intervention on 12 September 1980. This situation is evident in the 1982 Constitution, government programmes and the amendments made to the Law No. 1739. 

The information I have conveyed to you by making use of my work during my doctoral education is important in terms of making sense of the education policies implemented today. When talking about education policies, I should mention that I did not even have the opportunity to go into the important details that determine the process. Unfortunately, the process, which should be handled in a comprehensive manner and discussed with the participation of different segments of society, seems to have been derailed. I will conclude here with the period up to 1980 in order to cover these issues in my next article.

Bibliography

(1) Adil Saraç, Introduction to Education Science Lecture Notes, Ankara, 2002, p.4

(2) H.Ali Koçer, Türkiye'de Modern Eğitimin Doğuşu ve Gelişimi, İstanbul, MEB Yayınları, 1992, p.6, 40. The first institution to provide education in the Western sense was Mühendishane-i Berri Humayun, opened in 1773. Its aim was to train naval officers and engineers.

(3) Kemal Aytaç, ‘Atatürk'ün Eğitim Görüşü’, Atatürkçülük (Second Book), Ankara, Gnkur.Basımevi, 1983, pp.104-107.

(4) Nurdan Kalaycı, Cumhuriyet Döneminde İlköğretim, İstanbul, MEB Yayınları, 2004, p.58.

(5) A.Rıza Abay, ‘Education Policy’, 1980-2003 Türkiye'nin Dış, Ekonomik, Sosyal ve İdari Politikaları, Ankara, Siyasal Kitabevi, 2003, pp.434-439.

(6) Ibid, pp. 439-440.

(7) Nurdan Kalaycı, op. cit., pp. 74-75.