Hizmet ready to pioneer first school to provide education in Kurdish
A private school opened by volunteers from the faith-based Hizmet movement in the southeastern province of Şırnak is prepared to be the first school to provide education in mother tongue after a government-sponsored reform package paved the way for such schools, the Taraf daily reported on Tuesday.
Director of Yağmur College Mahmut Bulut told Taraf that the school is ready to provide education in Kurdish if parents of students demand once the legal ground is set by the government. The school is the single private school in Şırnak.
Allowing education in mother tongue was among a set of reforms announced by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday. The reform will make it possible for students to receive education in their native tongue in private educational facilities. The schools will able to deliver education in languages besides the official language of Turkish, the prime minister said. The measure paves the way for Kurds, who have long demanded the government offer full education in the Kurdish language, to establish private schools providing education in Kurdish. Erdoğan said, however, certain lessons will still be provided in the Turkish language.
The Hizmet movement, which includes followers of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen's principles, is known for its cultural and educational activities in Turkey and around the world along with its efforts to promote intercultural and interfaith activities.
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