The procedure of investigating the ‘race code’ of students in state records for students applying to non-Muslim schools is to be abolished. A public mandate has been prepared to end the procedure that received a very strong reaction. According to the public mandate that will be published in the Official Gazette in the coming days, headmasters will have the authority over school registrations. Schools will now also have the right to recommend teachers of cultural courses in Turkish to the Ministry of National Education.
UYGAR GÜLTEKİN
BARUYR KUYUMCUYAN
By a public mandate to be issued by Minister of National Education, Nabi Avcı, the ‘race code’ check that causes problems at non-Muslim schools every year is to be abolished. From now on, headmasters will have full authority over new student registration. Schools will now also have the right to recommend teachers of cultural courses in Turkish to the Ministry of National Education. The Ministry of National Education will appoint teachers from the list presented by schools, and the deputy headmaster will also be elected from this list.
Until now, in the registration of students to non-Muslim schools, applications were first taken by the school and sent to the Provincial National Education Directorate. National Education Directorate had the authority to approve the registration.
AGOS had previously discovered that Provincial National Education Directorates checked via the Civil Registry whether the student was non-Muslim or not; and that every citizen was indexed according to a ‘race code’ in State archives. It had also emerged that the rejection of many students who had been baptized by Patriarchates was due to their failure to match the requirements of ‘race code’. Especially the children of forcibly Islamized Armenians faced serious difficulties.
Paylan met with Minister Avcı
HDP Istanbul Member of Parliament Garo Paylan met with Minister of National Education Nabi Avcı during the opening session of Parliament and conveyed that a legal amendment was not necessary for the solution of the problem, and that a public mandate issued by the Ministry would suffice. Following the meeting, upon the instruction of Minister Avcı, ministry bureaucrats and Paylan came together to work on a regulation for teacher appointments for cultural courses in Turkish. Minister Avcı signed the public mandate they prepared.
Headmasters to have authority over registration
According to the public mandate, parents who want to register their children at a school will apply with a petition declaring that their child is non-Muslim. The headmaster will decide whether the student’s application is to be accepted, and no ‘race code’ check will be carried out.
Schools to propose teachers to be appointed
In the past, at non-Muslim schools, the Ministry of National Education appointed teachers of Turkish language and social sciences, and one of such teachers also served as deputy headmaster.
According to the new public mandate, Provincial National Education Directorates will make official announcements for vacancies. Then, Turkish language and cultural course teachers will apply to the directorates of the non-Muslim schools they want to work at. Headmasters will prepare a recommendation list and present it to the Provincial National Education Directorates they are affiliated with. Provincial National Education Directorates will organize the work permits for the recommended teachers and approve their appointment.
Judiciary had stopped procedure
AGOS had revealed the ‘race code’ check in 2013, proving that citizens were coded according to their ethnic origin, and that the ‘race code’ for Armenians was ‘2’. The family of a student whose school registration had been rejected had taken the matter to court; and the court had ruled that the practice was unlawful. However, the present public mandate does not put an end to the State keeping ‘race code’ records.
Paylan: A great step
HDP Istanbul Member of Parliament Garo Paylan, who had carried out a number of meetings with school administrations and the Ministry of National Education, stated that this was a ‘revolutionary’ step, adding: “We have seen three ministers come and go in our struggle to abolish ‘race code’ checks. The ‘race code’ check has caused serious problems. There had been parents who failed to register their children at Armenian schools even though they had studied at Armenian schools themselves. Our communities are dwindling in numbers. We all know each other because we are so few. This is the ground for our demand that the issue be left to communities, and the authority be granted to headmasters.”
‘It will be up to our internal debate’
“Law no.5580 already clearly defines the borders. The Law on Private School includes a clear reference stating, ‘Community members study at minority schools’. The public mandate that authorizes headmasters in the determination of community members means that from now on, this will be up to our internal debate. We have records at our Patriarchate. The headmaster will have no difficulty in making this decision. There used to be around 5 cases every year that faced difficulties of this nature. It was important for us to gain our autonomy on this matter. Armenians will no longer have to prove to the State that they are Armenian.”
‘A joint commission could be established’
“Regarding Islamized Armenians, it is clear that the expression ‘community member’ is a religious reference. A joint commission could be established to take the weight off the headmasters’ shoulders regarding this issue. This commission can then assess the situation, deliver an opinion, and the headmaster can have the final decision.”
